As Delhi is headed for fresh elections, the BJP may have a decent chunk of middle and upper-middle class votes, which went to the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) pocket in the December polls last year. But like the previous election, the party is still plagued with the challenge of wooing Delhi’s Muslim voters. Acknowledging the issue, the Delhi BJP this time plans to give special importance to this section of minorities in the Capital and thus, has planned to take the first step by launching an intensive membership drive in these areas.
In the previous polls, Muslims who voted against the Congress chose AAP as an alternative. In all Muslim-dominated constituencies, AAP managed to get more than 12,000 votes finishing either second or third giving a tough fight to Congress candidates. The face for the BJP then was same as it is going to be now — Prime Minister Narendra Modi. That time, its development poll plank failed to charm the Muslims as much as the horrors of 2002 Gujarat riots overpowered them. With Modi being named the prime ministerial candidate of BJP, a large section of the community also remained committed to Congress, giving the party a face-saver in most Muslim-dominated seats. Out of the eight seats that Congress managed to retain, five seats were those with a heavy presence of the community. These were Ballimaran, Okhla, Mustafabad, Seelampur and Chandni Chowk.
On questioning Delhi BJP’s minorities cell president Atif Rashid as to how is the Modi factor going to influence Muslim voters in their favour, he said the party would extensively propagate the slogan Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas and that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s quitting the Delhi Government will work in their favour. The party strongly feels that when it comes to minorities, their fight will be with the Congress and not AAP.
“In the December 4 polls, Muslims voted either for the Congress or for AAP. But they are now disillusioned with AAP since Kejriwal and his Cabinet resigned from Delhi Government. The Congress is still our competitor as last time also out of the only eight seats it won in Delhi, five were from Muslim-dominated constituencies,” said Rashid.
The party is planning to launch an intensive membership drive exclusively for the minorities from November 12. In a meeting of its minority cell on Thursday, the party decided that the strategy would be to reach out to the Muslims on development plank along with that of inclusive growth. “Campaigning will begin with a massive membership drive. They (the Muslims) would choose us this time because they have seen how swiftly Modi is working towards development. Besides, the twin wins in Maharashtra and Haryana has made the voters in Delhi believe in us all the more,” added Rashid.
Meanwhile, preparation for the forthcoming assembly elections within the Delhi BJP was in full swing on Thursday as various units of the party like Mahila Morcha and SC Morcha holding meetings to decide on their respective agenda. Newly-appointed president of the Mahila Morcha Kamaljeet Sehrawat presided over the meeting of the Morcha in which they called upon the women workers who were directed to highlight the relief given to people by the Modi Government in the form of exemption in income tax, decline in inflation and reduction in the price of petrol resulting in saving to the families.