Lucknow/Meerut: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s minority wing on Thursday felicitated 51 Muslim individuals as “Modi Mitra” (friends of Modi) at an event in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoband town, as it stepped up its outreach programme ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The aim of the initiative, according to the BJP’s minority morcha, is to identify prominent people from the Muslim community who are appreciative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives and benefited from various welfare schemes of the BJP-led Union government.
Similar events to reach out to minorities and identify them as Modi mitras will be oraganised across all 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, BJP minority wing’s national chief Jamal Siddiqui said.
“These Modi Mitras are non-political people with a standing in the society,” Siddiqui told HT after the event at Deoband, also attended by “labahartis” (beneficiaries) of various welfare schemes from Muslim community.
The Western Uttar Pradesh town is recognised as a prominent center for Islamic study.
Addressing the event, Siddiqui praised PM Modi for making “efforts to remove the distinction between Hindus and Muslims” in the country.
“The municipal elections [in Uttar Pradesh] are an example of this, wherein BJP candidates won even on seats that have 60-80% Muslim voters,” Siddiqui said.
{{/usCountry}}“The municipal elections [in Uttar Pradesh] are an example of this, wherein BJP candidates won even on seats that have 60-80% Muslim voters,” Siddiqui said.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP won the Deoband assembly seat, comprising around 40% Muslims, in both 2017 and 2022 elections.
The BJP’s minority outreach initiative in Uttar Pradesh, where Muslims constitute 19% of the state population, got a major shot in the arm after the party won the bypolls to Muslim-dominated Lok Sabha constituencies of Azamgarh and Rampur. The BJP also won the Rampur (Sadar) assembly seat, which was dominated by senior Samajwadi Party (SP) Azam Khan, dealing a massive blow to the opposition party.
The ruling party had credited the electoral gains in these minority-dominated regions primarily to the benefits of welfare schemes of the BJP-led Union and state governments to Muslims, especially “most backward Pasmanda Muslims”.
“Everyone knows what the BJP is upto. Its views and actions about Muslims are common knowledge. Nearer to election, they engage in various stunts,” said UP Congress Committee spokesman Ashok Singh.