Amidst criticism and controversial statements, BJP’s new campaign to enrol 50 lakh minorities raises questions about sincerity
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a fresh campaign to attract minority voters, with a specific focus on the upcoming assembly elections in five states. The party’s Minority Morcha has been tasked with enrolling 50 lakh members from minority communities as part of a national membership campaign beginning on September 1. This initiative, seen by many as a desperate attempt to broaden its voter base, will kick off with a workshop at the BJP headquarters on August 27, attended by Minority Morcha in-charge and former Rajya Sabha MP Dushyant Kumar Gautam and other state representatives.
Jamal Siddiqui, the chief of the BJP Minority Morcha, described the party’s intentions to bring more minority members into the fold. Speaking to The Indian Express, Siddiqui said, “We plan to enrol 50 lakh members from the minority community, for which a workshop will be organised. Gautam will attend this program.”
However, this initiative is already being met with scepticism, particularly given the BJP’s past failures to genuinely engage with minority communities.
For instance, the party’s outreach to the Pasmanda Muslims — belonging to the lower caste within the Muslim community — has largely been ineffective. Despite attempts to appeal to this group, the BJP has struggled to gain their trust, raising doubts about the sincerity of its current campaign. Previous efforts, such as the Sufi Samvad Maha Abhiyan aimed at engaging the Sufi community, have similarly fallen flat.
The BJP’s efforts to court minority voters have also extended to Kerala, where it made inroads with the Christian community ahead of the recent Lok Sabha elections. These efforts resulted in the party winning its first Lok Sabha seat in Kerala through Suresh Gopi in Thrissur. However, one success story in Kerala does little to change the perception of the BJP as a party that has historically alienated minority groups, particularly Muslims.
The BJP’s minority outreach campaign is further complicated by the contradictory statements made by some of its senior leaders. Despite the party’s supposed efforts to include minorities, several BJP leaders have continued to make inflammatory remarks against Muslims, undermining the party’s claims of inclusivity.
For example, Giriraj Singh, a minister in the Narendra Modi government, recently stated, “Allowing Muslims to stay in India was a big mistake. When the country was divided on the basis of religion, Muslims should not have been allowed to stay here.” Such statements not only perpetuate divisiveness but also cast doubt on the BJP’s true intentions behind its minority outreach efforts.
West Bengal BJP leader Shubhendu Adhikari has also expressed a similar disdain for the party’s minority engagement, declaring, “There is no need for Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.” He went on to introduce a new slogan, “Jo Hamare Saath, Hum Unke Saath,” and suggested that the BJP should dissolve its Minority Morcha altogether. Adhikari blamed Muslims for the BJP’s poor performance in the West Bengal Lok Sabha elections, further straining the party’s already tenuous relationship with the Muslim community.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has also added fuel to the fire with his remarks about the growing Muslim population in his state. “The number of Muslims in Assam has increased significantly, and it pains me a lot,” Sarma said, reflecting the party’s hardline stance on Muslim demographics.
The BJP’s new membership drive is not just about numbers; it is also tied to the upcoming organisational elections within the party. These elections will occur at various levels, culminating in the election of a new national president. With BJP president JP Nadda’s term ending in June and his becoming a Union minister, the party is expected to appoint a new national president before the elections, who will later assume the full-time role.
However, the Minority Morcha’s efforts, led by national executive member Jojo Jose and supported by leaders like Nisar Hussain Shah, Maulana Habib Haider, Faheem Saifi, Mohammad Saddam, and Zafreen Mahjabeen, face an uphill battle. The workshop on August 27 will focus on training party workers to enroll and verify new members through various methods, including missed calls, QR codes, the NaMo website, and the party’s online platforms.
While the BJP aims to enrol over 10 crore people during this campaign, the party’s relationship with minority communities remains fraught with tension. Prime Minister Modi’s comments during an election rally in Banswara, Rajasthan, have only exacerbated these tensions. Referring to Muslims as “infiltrators” and targeting them for having larger families, Modi’s rhetoric has been widely criticised as divisive and harmful.
“Earlier, when their government was in power, they had said that Muslims have the first right to the country’s property. Who will they distribute this property to after collecting it? To those who have more children, to the infiltrators,” Modi said during the rally. Such statements do little to inspire confidence in the BJP’s minority outreach efforts and instead suggest that the party’s leadership continues to view Muslims with suspicion.
Muslims, who constitute over 15 percent of India’s population according to the 2011 census, remain severely underrepresented in parliament. In the 18th Lok Sabha, only 26 Muslim MPs were elected out of 543 members, with just one belonging to the BJP. This stark underrepresentation raises further questions about the BJP’s commitment to genuinely including minorities in its political fold.
As the BJP pushes forward with its membership drive, the party faces significant challenges in convincing minority communities, particularly Muslims, of its sincerity. The contradictions between the party’s outreach efforts and the divisive rhetoric of its leaders only serve to deepen mistrust. Whether the BJP’s new campaign will result in genuine change or merely be seen as a token gesture remains to be seen. For now, the party’s relationship with India’s minorities hangs in a precarious balance, with its actions under intense scrutiny.
