Muslim votes for the BJP

[Bengal_Tiger]

The BJP led by controversial politician, Narendra Modi attracted Muslim votes.


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BJP gains on minority vote, trust in Delhi

Neelam Pandey, Hindustan Times New Delhi, May 19, 2014



The one crucial element in BJP’s historic 7-0 win in Delhi was the support it received from the minority community.

The party put in a lot of effort, right from organising conferences, holding public meetings, conducting door-to-door programmes to ensure the anti-Modi image created by the Congress and AAP was dismantled. The efforts seem to have yielded results.

Across all assembly segments, which are dominated by Muslims, BJP gained 5,000-25,000 votes in the recently held Lok Sabha elections.

Senior BJP leaders further said the results will boost the party’s prospects if re-elections are held in Delhi assembly and they should continue to undertake such programmes.

The minority cell of the BJP played a crucial role in getting the support of Muslims.

For instance, in the Matia Mahal assembly segment, which is part of Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituency and is dominated by Muslims, Harsh Vardhan managed to get 15,453 votes against 6,061 votes the party had won in the 2013 assembly elections.

“We had worked hard in areas dominated by Muslims and constituencies such as Seemapuri, Seelampur, Ghonda, Babarpur, Mustafabad, Okhla and Ballimaran. We have gained in Okhla too where the party candidate got 39,445 votes against 23,358 votes in the assembly election. It shows that the party is getting the support of the Muslim population and they believe in our agenda of positive governance,” said a senior BJP leader.

The minority cell of the Delhi BJP had also prepared a video of Narendra Modi, the party’s face this election, highlighting the fact that he and the party is not anti-Muslim.

“Traditionally, Muslims are believed to be the vote bank of Congress but that notion has undergone a sea change. A number of Muslims, especially the youth, came out in huge number and supported us as we gave them the development model. Our minority cell held interactions and public meets to ensure more people came out and voted for our candidates,” said Atif Rashid, president of minority cell of Delhi BJP

http://www.hindustantimes.com/elections2014/state-of-the-states/bjp-gains-on-muslim-vote-trust-in-delhi/article1-1220681.aspx

[Bengal_Tiger]

Muslim leaders hope BJP will focus on economic development

Friday, 16 May 2014 - 7:15pm IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: IANS


Muslim leaders and activists expressed cautious optimism that the Narendra Modi-led government will work towards the economic development of the country which will benefit all.

Prominent Muslim leader Maulana Mahmood Madani said that "the mandate of the people should be accepted with open heart. It is his responsibility to rise above the considerations of caste and creed and to work for the economic development of the country. He should ensure that there is no discrimination and that equal opportunity is provided to all".

Abdul Noumani, spokesperson of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, said a large number of Muslims, particularly the young, voted this time for the Modi-led National Democratic Alliance in the expectation of better economic opportunities.

"His main challenge will be to improve the economy. He will have to create jobs and curb inflation. He will also have to assure other countries that there will be peace in the country in order to attract investments from other countries," Noumani added. He also pointed out that Modi has said that "he will protect the Muslim community from any danger".

Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan, editor of leading journal on minority affairs Milli Gazette, said he hoped that "with a good majority, the BJP will be more concerned with the economic development of the country. This should make their attitude more amenable towards the minorities as a good majority will make them more relaxed towards following their core agenda".

However, Mohammad Adeeb, former Independent MP from Uttar Pradesh, said the BJP's victory left "no hope for secularism in India. There will be fear in Muslims now and the sense of belonging will not be there".

Khan also cautioned that the BJP regime may discriminate against the Muslim community although the ways of doing so were likely to be subtle. "They may deprive the minority areas of development," Khan, who also heads the All India Majlis-e-Mushawarat, an umbrella organisation of several Muslim groups all over the country, said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-muslim-leaders-hope-bjp-will-focus-on-economic-development-1989058

[Bengal_Tiger]

The BJP have been in power and back then the leader was Vajpayee.

Vajpayee visited Pakistan and tried to improve relations.

In late 1998 and early 1999, Vajpayee began a push for a full-scale diplomatic peace process with Pakistan. With the historic inauguration of the Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999, Vajpayee initiated a new peace process aimed towards permanently resolving the Kashmir dispute and other conflicts with Pakistan. The resultant Lahore Declaration espoused a commitment to dialogue, expanded trade relations and mutual friendship and envisaged a goal of denuclearised South Asia. This eased the tension created by the 1998 nuclear tests, not only within the two nations but also in South Asia and the rest of the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atal_Bihari_Vajpayee

New Delhi, Apr 10: Muslim voters are by and large wary of Narendra Modi but say they would have happily voted for the BJP if it had Atal Bihari Vajpayee as its prime ministerial candidate.

http://www.india.com/election-2014/muslims-wary-of-narendra-modi-fondly-remember-atal-bihari-vajpayee-37412/

In 1999, Vajpayee personally travelled to Pakistan on the inaugural Delhi-Lahore Bus, which established a regular road link between the two countries for the first time since 1947. Vajpayee and the then-Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued the Lahore Declaration, which committed the two nations to resolve bilateral disputes through dialogue and concurrently boost trade. However, the Lahore summit's success was diminished by the outbreak of the Kargil War just months later. In 2001, Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf held the Agra summit, which failed to produce results and was overshadowed by the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff. In 2003, Vajpayee declared in the Indian Parliament that he was making his final initiative to make peace with Pakistan, and oversaw considerable improvement in relations and a ceasefire between Indian forces and militant groups in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premiership_of_Atal_Bihari_Vajpayee

Vajpayee (right) and Nawaz Shareef.


I personally knew a Muslim from Uttar Pradesh who was actually anti-BJP however I think he knew Vajpayee personally and his opinion of him was that he was a "good man".