After Assembly and parliamentary polls, Muslims have started looking towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The saffron party has fielded about 500 Muslim candidates for different posts in the ongoing local bodies’ elections.
The saffron party also feeling the welcome change in community’s stance is extending friendly hands towards Muslims to grab the opportunity.As per the statics available the BJP has given near about 500 tickets to aspiring community leaders for the post of Corporators while the Congress has also given almost the same number of tickets to the community.Change in Muslims political interest in Madhya Pradesh and BJP embracing them with open arms could be gauged by the fact that the saffron party is neck to neck with the grand old party in giving tickets to the community leaders in the run for civic elections.
Congress is ahead with the BJP only in fielding chairmen that it has fielded 15 while the BJP has not fielded any chairmen or mayoral candidate from the community.The Congress that has been marginalized in the state ever since it was rooted out of power from the state in 2003 appears to be the biggest loser with the changing political mood of the community.
BJP (minority cell) state president Hidayatullah Sheikh while talking to ‘The Pioneer’ over the issue said, “we have given 500 plus tickets to the muslim candidates for the post of Corporators that is more than the double that we fielded in the last civic elections.”Sheikh further said that the Muslim support to the BJP increased during the last assembly and parliamentary elections, not only the vote per cent of muslims to the party increased but the number of community members joining the party has also gone up. “We now have substantial number of muslim party workers in almost every constituency and the number is increasing by every passing day,” he added.
When asked that the BJP is fielding Muslims only on Corporators post while it shy’s away from fielding the community members on posts of mayor, chairmen and in the assembly and parliamentary elections, the BJP state minority cell president replied that in BJP tickets are given to winnable candidates, but the party leadership gives due respect to the community sentiments and that is why a muslim Najma Heptullah was sent to the Rajya Sabha. Similarly in the civic body’s we are hopeful that after coming to power the party would nominate community leaders as vice chairman and chairman, he added. Sheikh said that Congress always deceived the muslims to get their votes, while the BJP is interested to solve the community issues and to bring muslims in the main stream of nation.