Road to 2024: BJP bets on 60 LS seats with 30 pc Muslims

By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, January 29: In the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s concluding address in the BJP’s National Executive in Delhi on January 17 where he asked his party to vigorously approach Muslims like Shia Bohras and ‘Pasmanda Muslims’, the saffron outfit will be making an aggressive outreach in 60 Lok Sabha constituencies which have over 30 per cent minority population.
The BJP Minority Morcha national president Jamal Siddiqui said: “We have identified 60 constituencies in 10 states where Muslims are more than 30 per cent. Around 5000 people from each of these constituencies who have genuinely appreciated PM Modi’s develop programmes would be selected and be part of scooter rallies in different states creating awareness among Muslims and taking their feedback,” said Siddiqui. The Morcha has appointed a ‘Prabhari’ for each of the Lok Sabha constituencies selected for the rallies where all key BJP leaders of the region will also be present.
He asserted that PM ‘Yojnas’ relating to housing, drinking water, ‘Garib Kalyan’ and scholarships and education, among others, have “convinced” Muslims about the BJP’s way of politics. Muslims “repeatedly” did not vote for the BJP because they were “misled” by the “vote bank politics” of Congress and the Samajwadi Party, he added. “The ‘Muslim contact’ by way of scooter rallies would make the community realize the benefits it derived from the Modi-government’s last eight years and dispel their many misconceptions,” added Siddiqui.
The BJP Minority morcha chief also claimed that 50 per cent Muslims in Gujarat, 20 per cent in UP, 22 per cent in Delhi and 20 per cent in Assam voted for the BJP in the recently held elections. “All India United Democratic Front chief and Assam MP Maulana Badruddin Ajmal lost his deposit,” he said, while stating that there has been a change in the attitude of Muslims towards the BJP.
The BJP leader stated that the scooter rallies would continue in 60 Parliamentary constituencies for four months, including in Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha seat Wayanad in Kerala, Rmpur in UP and Behrampur in West Bengal. “We will contact social workers and take message in a door to door campaign and communicate with Muslims of all categories,” he said. After four months of scooter rallies in 60 Constituencies, the Muslim representatives will gather in Delhi in the first week of May and meet the prime minister for a dialogue and take the campaign to the next leg.