Party eyes minority votes with door-to-door campaign to woo backward Muslim communities, challenging RJD’s traditional base.
Bihar BJP leaders welcome 152 Pasmanda community members into the party fold in Patna as part of its statewide minority outreach strategy. (Image:DC)
New Delhi: With the aim of making inroads into minority votes ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, the BJP is planning a major outreach to the “Pasmanda” (backward Muslim) community across the state, assuring them of greater representation. The party believes that any gain in minority support will come at the cost of the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, which traditionally relies on minority votes as a core part of its base.
Earlier this week, around 152 prominent personalities from Pasmanda communities joined the BJP in Patna in the presence of Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. The party is set to soon launch a statewide campaign targeting Pasmanda Muslims, highlighting the Modi government's welfare work and conveying the message that, unlike other parties that have done politics in the name of Muslims, the BJP has made real efforts to uplift the community.
Yasir Jilani, national media in-charge of the BJP Minority Morcha, said the party will engage with Pasmanda Muslims and inform them about the development initiatives taken by the Narendra Modi-led government since 2014, initiatives that, he said, have benefited all communities, including theirs.
The Bihar BJP plans to launch a door-to-door campaign seeking the support and votes of Pasmanda Muslims. Noor Alam, national media co-in-charge of the BJP Minority Morcha, told this newspaper that party leaders will travel to every district in the state ahead of the Assembly elections, conducting intensive door-to-door campaigns to build community support. As per the plan, each campaign team will consist of five to six Minority Morcha leaders.
Danish Iqbal, Bihar BJP’s state media in-charge, emphasised that Pasmanda Muslims make up 70 to 80 per cent of the state’s total Muslim population, yet continue to remain socially and economically backward due to the appeasement politics practiced by so-called secular opposition parties.
“It is vote-bank politics that has harmed the Pasmanda Muslims,” Iqbal said. “For the first time since independence, it is the Modi government that has brought them into the mainstream. The government is committed to the development and welfare of the Pasmanda communities.”
Alam added that 152 people from across Bihar joined the BJP after being impressed by the NDA government's performance at both the Centre and the state under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. “Many more prominent members of the community are expected to join the party in the coming days,” he said.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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