The BJP has started ‘Sufi Samvad’ – interactions with minorities, especially those from an economically backward section in these communities – ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The saffron party’s minority morcha will hold a large sammelan in December featuring an address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The dialogues were organised after Prime Minister Modi asked party leaders to reach out to Pasmandas and Bohras from the Muslim community at two occasions, one in the national executive held in Hyderabad and the other in New Delhi. This prompted the morcha to kickstart programmes amid minorities.
Close to 200 representatives belonging to Muslim, Christian and Sikh communities were invited to the BJP headquarters for a dialogue on politics of development rather than appeasement, as a senior leader put it. They were from dargahs, gurdwaras and churches.
The morcha has decided to form a team of 20 members at every mandal, who will then go to minority-dominated areas and discuss their future with them.
According to sources, the BJP has also chosen places with a significant percentage of Muslim and minority votes. There will be focus on constituencies that have a significant percentage of Muslim population like Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam and Bihar.
“We will have a big sammelan in December. Our representatives also have people from dargahs, churches and gurdwaras as well. Some of them will also speak about government policies that improved lives of socially backward among them whereas other parties garnered votes and did nothing,” said Jamaal Siddiqui, the national president of the BJP Minority Morcha.
The morcha’s national media incharge, Yaser Jilani, said the outreach was to include a section of the community that had remained backward due to being used as vote banks. The morcha will hold interactions across states and understand what minorities want.
With inputs from News18
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