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?Muslims coming closer?
Kalyan Singh says there are signs their anger is giving way to introspection.
As the BJP's frontline campaigner in Uttar Pradesh, former chief minister Kalyan Singh toured the 32 Lok Sabha constituencies going to polls on Monday (April 26). He spoke to Hindustan Times on his party's prospects and Muslim response to saffron overtures led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Excerpts.
What are your party's expectations from Muslims? Is the community responding to the PM's call to shed inhibitions of yore and vote for the BJP?
Their participation has been large even in meetings addressed by lesser leaders like me. At every such gathering, we have repeated Atalji's message. Our effort primarily is to convince them about our sincerity to make them our 'hamrah' (fellow-travellers).
What percentage of Muslims are likely to heed Vajpayee's call in constituencies other than Kaiserganj and Bahraich?
Such projections are difficult to make. But there are sure signs of their anger is giving way to serious introspection. Many Maulanas have been turning up at our meetings. I have seen them nodding in approval when we talk about our resolve to build bridges with their community. This proves that our message — that they shouldn't allow themselves to be used as vote banks by our adversaries — has an audience and is being understood by sections among them.
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh says the BJP is feigning proximity with his party to confuse the Muslim electorate. Your comments.
They cannot blame us for their problems. If they do some soul searching, they'd realise that their loss of credibility with Muslims has its genesis in their tendency to use them as mere vote banks.
Why are you blaming your rivals for treating them as a vote bank? Is your bid to reach out to them not driven by electoral considerations?
All these years, our political rivals used BJP-bashing as a shortcut to gather Muslim votes. We want to put and end to this trend. It's our firm belief that a stable society is a pre-requisite for development — an objective which cannot be achieved by ignoring the 15 crore Muslim population.
How many seats will the BJP get in UP?
The SP will get 18-20, the BSP 7-9 and the Congress five. The remaining (46) will be the BJP's.
