With an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party has initiated efforts to woo Muslim voters by launching the mission ‘Modi Mitra’ which aims to connect 5,000 Muslims per Lok Sabha constituency as party friends, totaling 4,00,000 Muslims across the 80 parliamentary constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.
“This is part of the ‘Mission-80’ campaign aimed at winning all (Lok Sabha) 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh,” BJP state vice-president Vijay Bahadur Pathak said.
As part of this strategy, the BJP Muslim Morcha plans to launch a comprehensive public relations campaign. To oversee the campaign, 400 programme heads have been appointed. One of the key events under this initiative will be the celebration of International Yoga Day on June 21, in 900 madrasas across UP. Members of the BJP Muslim Morcha will visit these madrasas, interact with Muslims, and inform them about the government’s schemes.
The BJP has placed particular emphasis on the 25 Lok Sabha seats in western Uttar Pradesh where the Muslim electorate significantly influences election outcomes. Seats such as Meerut, Amroha, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, and Nagina will receive special attention as these constituencies have witnessed the Muslim community playing a decisive role in determining the winners and losers.
Ashfaq Saifi, a spokesperson for the BJP, stated, “The BJP-led Central and state governments are committed to development for all, without discrimination.”
Saifi further highlighted that the BJP has already given electoral tickets to a significant number of Muslim candidates in municipal elections and aims to engage with doctors, engineers and other prominent individuals from the Muslim community.
The initiative was launched in Sambhal on Saturday and will extend to other regions.
In addition to connecting with influential individuals from the Muslim community, the BJP intends to seek the support of religious leaders under Mission Modi Mitra. Religious leaders from the Pasmanda Muslim society will be involved, along with organising Sufi conferences in collaboration with renowned madrasas and influential religious figures who hold sway in society.
Saifi emphasised that the politics of fear and confusion propagated by the opposition no longer holds sway over the Muslim community. Muslims are gradually realising the positive impact of government schemes and experiencing a diminishing sense of fear.
The BJP’s focus will revolve around three key aspects. Firstly, it plans to print 1,00,000 books containing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ in Urdu, to be distributed in constituencies with a significant Muslim population. Party workers will present these books to Muslim scholars to help disseminate the prime minister’s message among their community members. Additionally, the BJP Minority Morcha members will engage in discussions to foster connections with the Muslim community.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won an impressive 73 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, with the BJP securing 71 seats and Apna Dal (Sonelal) winning two. However, due to the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance in the 2019 elections, the BJP alliance could only secure 64 seats.
The BJP faced defeat on 16 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections, including Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rae Bareli, Ghosi, Lalganj, Jaunpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Ghazipur, Shravasti, Mainpuri, Saharanpur, Azamgarh, Rampur, and Nagina. Of these, the BSP won 10 seats, the SP won five, and the Congress secured one. However, in subsequent by-elections, the BJP managed to reclaim the Azamgarh and Rampur seats.
As the BJP gears up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Mission-80 strategy demonstrates the party’s determination to secure an overwhelming victory by reaching out to all sections of society, including the Muslim community. The success of this initiative will undoubtedly shape the political landscape in Uttar Pradesh and potentially have far-reaching implications for the national political scenario.