<p>At the end of the meeting, which lasted a few hours, the chief minister reportedly remarked: “I am your chief minister and I will always be ready to redress your greviances.’’<br /><br />It was after several years that representatives of the Muslim community had called on the chief minister who inturn seems to have given them a patient hearing. This was not just a one-off event, but several in a series of image-building exercise by Modi, especially after 2002. And now with elections due next year, Modi seems to be desperate for an image makeover. Many belive that it was the 2009 Lok Sabha elections that made Modi rework his strategy and focus more on his developmental agenda and talks of inclusive growth. With Modi's 300 odd meetings around the country during that poll failing to get the BJP the desired seats, Modi soon realised that he needed to do more for an image makeover. About a year back when civic polls were round the corner he picked former IPS officer A I Saiyed to join the partyfold and add on to the initiative of wooing the Muslims. <br /><br />After joining the BJP, Saiyed too also has gone all out to sing paens for Modi. He didn’t stop at that. Not just choosing political friends among the Muslims, Saiyed has targeted Bollywood. Prominent Bollywood musician Ismail Darbar, at the chief minister’s initiative, too decided to join the party from Surat. It remains to be seen whether Darbar is given any responsibility in the party prior to the elections but, for the moment, Modi has tried to send a signal that the elite Muslims are convinced of his development agenda and are ready to work with him. <br /><br />After his induction into the BJP, Darbar had said: “I have been inspired by the way the chief minister has been taking the state forward and I want to be part of the development bandwagon.’’ Darbar said that he did not expect any position in the party but would like to work for the development of his state and the community. <br /><br />It is not just the induction of Muslim faces. Modi has gone all out to attend Muslim functions, inaugurate exhibitions organised by the Dawoodi Bohra Mulim sect and shower praises on their contribution in the progress story of Gujarat. His party members even point out that Modi was ready to extend the olive branch to the Muclim business community so that they too could reap the benefits and in turn he too can derive mileage and shed off the tag of being discriminatory.<br /><br />National ambition<br /><br />“After the infamous Gujarat riots, Modi has been tagged as an anti-Muslim, which he realises is affecting his national ambition,’’ said political commentator Dinesh Shukla. <br /><br />Shukla said that by inducting well-known Muslim dignitaries Modi probably is trying to inch toward his national ambition. Political observers say that it has been a decade since he has been at the helm of Gujarat and he now sees an opportunity to elevate himself at the national political level, which could be achieved when his performance card is certified as that of an unbiased, development-oriented politician.<br /><br />Extending his support is the scion of the royal Muslim family of Balasinore, Nawabzada Saluddin Babi who too admitted that he was inspired by the chief minister’s dynamism and wanted to help Modi develop his region. “The chief minister is a patient listener and is open to ideas. Our region has the potential to be a good tourist destination as his ideas for developing this region too could be at par with other regions in the state and generate more employment,’’ Babi said.<br /><br />What remains to be seen now is how the minority community at large reacts to Modi’s image makeover when the state goes to the polls next year. Zafar Sareshwala, a small scale industrialist whose several outlets were targetted during the Gujarat riots by extremists, said that Muslims will not be able to forget 2002. “With the Supreme Court keeping a watch and the trial courts within the state as well as outside presiding over the trial, one must learn to think beyond the communal conflagration. Sareswala has met Modi several times and is convinced that he definitely has the intention to work and believes in working toward inclusive growth. Recounting his recent encounter with the chief minister, Sareshwala said that he along with 25 other representatives from different walks of society met the Modi and apprised him of the problems that the community was faced with. “I will not term it as appeasement or image makeover. I think he is concerned about the problems being faced by the people of Gujarat which includes Muslims,’’ Sareswala said.<br /><br />He said that when people charged Modi and questioned why no Waqf board had been established and why there was no Haj committee, the chief minister called a meeting and initiated steps to resolve these issues. These moves, according to some Muslim leaders, indicated that Modi wants to work for the benefit of the people of Gujarat.</p>
<p>At the end of the meeting, which lasted a few hours, the chief minister reportedly remarked: “I am your chief minister and I will always be ready to redress your greviances.’’<br /><br />It was after several years that representatives of the Muslim community had called on the chief minister who inturn seems to have given them a patient hearing. This was not just a one-off event, but several in a series of image-building exercise by Modi, especially after 2002. And now with elections due next year, Modi seems to be desperate for an image makeover. Many belive that it was the 2009 Lok Sabha elections that made Modi rework his strategy and focus more on his developmental agenda and talks of inclusive growth. With Modi's 300 odd meetings around the country during that poll failing to get the BJP the desired seats, Modi soon realised that he needed to do more for an image makeover. About a year back when civic polls were round the corner he picked former IPS officer A I Saiyed to join the partyfold and add on to the initiative of wooing the Muslims. <br /><br />After joining the BJP, Saiyed too also has gone all out to sing paens for Modi. He didn’t stop at that. Not just choosing political friends among the Muslims, Saiyed has targeted Bollywood. Prominent Bollywood musician Ismail Darbar, at the chief minister’s initiative, too decided to join the party from Surat. It remains to be seen whether Darbar is given any responsibility in the party prior to the elections but, for the moment, Modi has tried to send a signal that the elite Muslims are convinced of his development agenda and are ready to work with him. <br /><br />After his induction into the BJP, Darbar had said: “I have been inspired by the way the chief minister has been taking the state forward and I want to be part of the development bandwagon.’’ Darbar said that he did not expect any position in the party but would like to work for the development of his state and the community. <br /><br />It is not just the induction of Muslim faces. Modi has gone all out to attend Muslim functions, inaugurate exhibitions organised by the Dawoodi Bohra Mulim sect and shower praises on their contribution in the progress story of Gujarat. His party members even point out that Modi was ready to extend the olive branch to the Muclim business community so that they too could reap the benefits and in turn he too can derive mileage and shed off the tag of being discriminatory.<br /><br />National ambition<br /><br />“After the infamous Gujarat riots, Modi has been tagged as an anti-Muslim, which he realises is affecting his national ambition,’’ said political commentator Dinesh Shukla. <br /><br />Shukla said that by inducting well-known Muslim dignitaries Modi probably is trying to inch toward his national ambition. Political observers say that it has been a decade since he has been at the helm of Gujarat and he now sees an opportunity to elevate himself at the national political level, which could be achieved when his performance card is certified as that of an unbiased, development-oriented politician.<br /><br />Extending his support is the scion of the royal Muslim family of Balasinore, Nawabzada Saluddin Babi who too admitted that he was inspired by the chief minister’s dynamism and wanted to help Modi develop his region. “The chief minister is a patient listener and is open to ideas. Our region has the potential to be a good tourist destination as his ideas for developing this region too could be at par with other regions in the state and generate more employment,’’ Babi said.<br /><br />What remains to be seen now is how the minority community at large reacts to Modi’s image makeover when the state goes to the polls next year. Zafar Sareshwala, a small scale industrialist whose several outlets were targetted during the Gujarat riots by extremists, said that Muslims will not be able to forget 2002. “With the Supreme Court keeping a watch and the trial courts within the state as well as outside presiding over the trial, one must learn to think beyond the communal conflagration. Sareswala has met Modi several times and is convinced that he definitely has the intention to work and believes in working toward inclusive growth. Recounting his recent encounter with the chief minister, Sareshwala said that he along with 25 other representatives from different walks of society met the Modi and apprised him of the problems that the community was faced with. “I will not term it as appeasement or image makeover. I think he is concerned about the problems being faced by the people of Gujarat which includes Muslims,’’ Sareswala said.<br /><br />He said that when people charged Modi and questioned why no Waqf board had been established and why there was no Haj committee, the chief minister called a meeting and initiated steps to resolve these issues. These moves, according to some Muslim leaders, indicated that Modi wants to work for the benefit of the people of Gujarat.</p>
