Hyderabad: After making attempts to consolidate Hindu votes, BJP has shifted its focus on Pasmanda Muslims who constitute 85 percent of India’s Muslim population.
Pasmanda Muslims who are weaker sections of the Muslim community were largely ignored by political parties in the past. So far, well-off Muslims have dominated the political space in Congress, BSP, SP, and other parties.
Now as opposition parties are also working hard to increase their vote shares in the next general elections, the saffron party cannot rely only on Hindutva votes.
In order to remain in power even after the 2024 elections, BJP is exploring options to woo Pasmanda Muslims by offering important positions in the party.
Did BJP gain Pasmanda Muslims’ votes in UP?
In the recently held assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, BSP fielded 96 Muslim candidates whereas, AIMIM contested 100 assembly seats.
Apart from them, other political parties also fielded another 45 Muslims.
These Muslim candidates were able to bag 20-25 thousand votes and because of the vote division, BJP won 165 seats with a margin of fewer than 2000 votes.
Despite these Muslim candidates fielded by various political parties in the state assembly polls, the saffron party managed to bag eight percent Muslim votes.
This is one of the reasons behind the BJP bagging 254 seats in the state despite the fact that it was expecting 180 seats in the election.
Attempt to increase vote share by wooing Pasmanda Muslims
In the elections, BJP left no stone unturned in consolidating Hindu votes, however, it bagged 42 percent votes in the 2022 assembly polls and SP got 32 percent votes.
If BJP wants to continue to be in power, it has to explore options to increase its vote share by wooing Pasmanda Muslims as the party is slowly losing its Hindutva voters.
Now the saffron party is trying to woo Pasmanda Muslims in the entire country including Telangana which will be going to the polls in 2023.
Can BJP repeat UP success in Telangana?
BJP is trying hard to form the government in Telangana ever since it emerged as strong opposition in the state after winning many coporator seats in GHMC elections.
Though the phrase Pasmanda Muslims is common in the politics of north Indian states, it is uncommon in Telangana.
AIMIM thinks that the term will not have any importance in Telangana politics even if BJP tries harder to promote it.
Pasmanda Muslims
Pasmanda Muslims are the weaker section of the Muslim community. Those who believe in the term divide the Muslim community into three
- Elite Ashraf
- Ajlaf
- Arjal
Elite Ashraf is believed to be the descendants of immigrant Muslims whereas, Ajlaf are people who had converted to Islam and Arjal are people who converted to Islam much later.
