BJP reaches out to 'pasmanda' Muslims in Uttar Pradesh ahead of 2024

Muslim leaders who attended the meeting praised the Narendra Modi govt for working to protect their interests

Barely days after saffron outfits warned Muslim youths against applying henna on the hands of Hindu women on the occasion of 'Karva Chauth' and accused them of indulging in 'love jihad', the BJP, in a first, organised a meeting of the ‘pasmanda’ (backward and dalit Muslims) Muslims here, in an apparent effort to secure their votes in the next general elections in 2024.

"Congress and Samajwadi Party used the Muslims for political gains and then discarded them after forming governments with their support," UP deputy chief minister Brijesh Pathak said while addressing the meeting on Sunday.

"The Muslims have now realised who their real well wisher is……the BJP governments at the centre and in the state do not discriminate between the people on the basis of their religion…we are working for every section of the society," he said.

Exhorting the ‘pasmanda’ Muslims to join the BJP, Pathak said that they should not allow themselves to be ‘misled’ by the Opposition parties.

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The Muslim leaders, who had come to attend the meeting from different parts of the country, also praised the Narendra Modi government for working to protect the interests of the minority community.

Ghulam Ali Khatana, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir, heaped praise on prime minister Narendra Modi and termed him as the ‘true well wisher’ of the Muslims.

The saffron party was apparently buoyed by its victory in the recently concluded polls in Muslim-dominated Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats and also the belief that around seven-eight percent Muslims may have voted for it in the recently held UP Assembly polls.

Danish Ansari, the only Muslim minister in the UP cabinet, expressed confidence that a large section of Muslims would support the BJP in the next election. "Muslims, especially those belonging to backward sections and Dalits, have seen through the other parties…they have realised their mistakes,’’ Ansari said.

Pasmanda Muslims have sizable numbers in the state, especially in the eastern and central parts, including Varanasi, Moradabad and some other places. They are considered to be not as well off as the ‘Sheikhs’ and ‘Syeds’. ‘Sheikhs’ are considered to be higher in the Muslims social hierarchy in comparison to the latter.

The BJP leaders however, were at a loss to explain the calls by the saffron outfits to boycott business establishments of the Muslims and also the recent diktat to Muslim youths not to apply henna on Hindu women’s hands. ‘’We will have to ensure that these things are not allowed if we seek their support,’’ remarked a senior UP BJP leader.