The direct approach: BJP's new attempt at wooing Muslims

According to the 2011 census data, Muslims constitute 13.4 percent of India’s population. However minuscule it might seem, the tendency of the community to almost vote en bloc lures political parties to try every trick in the book to make sure that Muslim votes come their way. So long, with the Congress taking a loud anti-communal stance, Muslims in India have traditionally voted for the party. After 2002’s carnage in Gujarat where 1000 Muslims died and chief minister Narendra Modi failed to rein in the violence in time, the Muslim votes seemed poised to never swing back on BJP’s side. However, the last couple of years have proved to be game changers in the political discourse of the country. [caption id=“attachment_1243837” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP.[/caption] First the riots in Assam last year and then the ones in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh raked up communal fires that the Congress government had managed to keep snuffed for a long time now. With the incidents coming right before the Lok Sabha elections, the parties, especially the BJP, has jumped into the minority-appeasement ring with renewed vigour. According to a report on The Economic Times , the party has decided to approach the Muslims in a different way than the traditional time tested one. So instead to seeking out ulemas and maulvis to help them establish a connect with the masses, the BJP intends to hold discussions between people from the grassroots and Narendra Modi. Though it is not clear how they will go about it without seeking help of the Muslim religious leaders is not clear. BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told ET:

We will talk to Muslims who are farmers, students, businessmen, government servants and in other walks of life as to their particular issues." He added that it was important to go beyond stereotyping the community at large. “We will talk to ordinary Muslims, men and women who are in different professions and who may or may not have much of an involvement in the theological aspects of the religion,” he said. 

It can be assumed that if the religious leaders are bypassed, the BJP has to access the community through either their followers on social media or rely on the Muslim leaders in the party to help them reach out. The first comes with the challenge that connecting with social media savvy Muslims will restrict the party’s reach to a very slim percentage of the community. Secondly, the BJP leaders can only percolate to their existing vote base within the community - a vote base which hasn’t been traditionally strong. Also, despite widespread disillusionment with the Congress, the tallest Muslim leaders are still apprehensive about choosing Modi as their representative. As this article points out, though Muslim leaders have directed virulent attacks at Rahul Gandhi following his ISI remark, they have also stayed firm on their disapproval of Modi saying that Rahul-bashing isn’t equivalent to votes for Modi. Moreover, with pompously rewarding riots accused Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana, the party just took a step back in their Muslim outreach programme. While it was a forceful attempt to strongly deny any connection with the riots, the gesture runs the risk of being read as audacious and to some, inconsiderate. Expressing the party’s trust is one thing, and felicitating them when the court of law has not yet let them off the hook, amounts to being read as hubris. It doesn’t help that the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate still attracts allegations of being communal, eleven years after the riots in his state. The BJP is probably sharply aware of the same and has hence told the ET reporter than they are not too excited about the new measure. The report quotes a leader: “It’s not as if Muslims will vote for us, but this is our commitment for the group.” Meanwhile the Congress has launched a frenzied clean-up drive to retain its Muslim votes. Taking examples from Bihar government’s programmes for minorities, the HRD ministry is set to launch the Rehman-100 programme where residential coaching centres, modelled on Bihar’s Super-30 ones, will be set up in Muslim majority states. Mint reports that each branch will admit 100 people and train them rigorously to crack IIT and IIM entrance exams. Aam Admi Party too has sought out an eminent Muslim cleric’s help to reach out to the community. While BJP’s approach is definitely not run-off-the-mill, will it cut ice and more importantly get votes from the Muslim community?