Plain electoral arithmetic shows Gujarat's Muslims are voting for Narendra Modi
Uday Mahurkar March 16, 2013 | UPDATED 19:36 IST
Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gujarat-muslims-are-voting-for-narendra-modi/1/258161.html
Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gujarat-muslims-are-voting-for-narendra-modi/1/258161.html
Uday Mahurkar March 16, 2013 | UPDATED 19:36 IST
A Narendra Modi supporter in Salaya hoists a saffron flag bearing the crescent.
Muslim-dominated Gujarat town Salaya has shifted electoral loyalties
from the Congress to BJP. In the local municipal elections last month,
all 24 of BJP's Muslim candidates won while their opponents, almost all
Congress candidates, lost their deposits-a telling development in a town
that had been an unimpeachable Congress stronghold since Independence.
Muslims comprise 90 per cent of the nearly 45,000 population of the farthest town on India's west coast, near Jamnagar. But Salaya is not alone in displaying the Muslim electorate's tilt towards BJP. Statewide trends show that Muslim voters in the recently held polls to 76 municipalities were distinctly pro-BJP.
Of
the 145 candidates fielded by the party, 81 won. In Kodinar
municipality, all eight Muslim BJP candidates won. In municipal
by-elections in nearby Junagadh, both the Muslim candidates of BJP got
re-elected unopposed as the Congress did not field candidates. The
municipal results followed BJP's impressive show in Muslim-dominated
constituencies in the Assembly polls in December 2012. In 22 of 32 such
seats, 30 to 67 per cent Muslims voted for BJP, even though the party
did not field a single Muslim candidate for the 182-member Assembly.
BJP's electoral pitch hit home in Salaya in 2010 when party leader Vijay Rupani and its minority morcha leader Kadar Salot visited with Chief Minister Narendra Modi's message of development for all and appeasement of none. The town's voters say the sea change in civic amenities was behind their pro-Modi stance. From no pucca roads until a few years ago, the town now has 12 km of concrete roads. From no sewage disposal facility, 40 per cent of the town's area is now under sewerage cover. The administration has effectively addressed potable water problems in the coastal town affected by high saline content.
To
the surprise of many in the December elections, in heavily
Muslim-populated constituencies such as Bhuj and Wagra, BJP's Hindu
candidates defeated the Congress's Muslim candidates. In Palej town,
part of the Wagra constituency and a former Congress stronghold, BJP
tasted success in the municipal polls on account of its civic work.
Development here is evident in the changed fortunes of a government
hospital. Built in 1967, the hospital had not become operational until
2007. It was used to house cattle and store animal feed. In 2007,
Palej's Muslims approached local MLA Dushyant Patel, who got Rs.2.70
crore sanctioned by Modi, and the hospital became operational. Pregnant
women no longer have to travel 20 km to Bharuch. About 30 deliveries
are conducted every month here. Says a burqa-clad Bilkisbanu Patel, 25,
wife of a Muslim rickshaw driver, awaiting her delivery on a hospital
bed, "This hospital is a blessing."
In Bhuj constituency, voters were influenced by the employment Modi brought to distant Muslim villages on the Pakistan border by way of tourism. Modi's slogan "Agar Kutch nahin dekha to kuch nahin dekha (If you haven't seen Kutch, you haven't seen anything)" ensured more footfalls than ever.
"The story in our political system was of promising and not delivering. Modi has broken that negative cycle," says Musa Abbas, 38, one of the newly elected BJP councillors.
The
Congress pooh-poohs Modi's claims of all-round development. Gyasuddin
Shaikh, newly elected Congress MLA from Dariapir in Ahmedabad, says, "It
is part of Modi's strategy for becoming prime minister that he keeps
harping on Muslim support to him and floats various theories. But
Muslims at large will never accept Modi. Muslims who voted for BJP this
time did so on the strength of the work done by individual MLAs in their
areas."
But facts on the ground paint a very different picture. Jobs matter. So does overall economic betterment. Clean drinking water, good roads and respite from mosquitoes are welcome. Figuring that Muslims, like all Gujaratis, want a better life is not rocket science. It may only be a matter of time before the message goes national.
Muslims comprise 90 per cent of the nearly 45,000 population of the farthest town on India's west coast, near Jamnagar. But Salaya is not alone in displaying the Muslim electorate's tilt towards BJP. Statewide trends show that Muslim voters in the recently held polls to 76 municipalities were distinctly pro-BJP.
A Narendra Modi supporter in Salaya hoists a saffron flag bearing the crescent.
BJP's electoral pitch hit home in Salaya in 2010 when party leader Vijay Rupani and its minority morcha leader Kadar Salot visited with Chief Minister Narendra Modi's message of development for all and appeasement of none. The town's voters say the sea change in civic amenities was behind their pro-Modi stance. From no pucca roads until a few years ago, the town now has 12 km of concrete roads. From no sewage disposal facility, 40 per cent of the town's area is now under sewerage cover. The administration has effectively addressed potable water problems in the coastal town affected by high saline content.
Narendra Modi.
In Bhuj constituency, voters were influenced by the employment Modi brought to distant Muslim villages on the Pakistan border by way of tourism. Modi's slogan "Agar Kutch nahin dekha to kuch nahin dekha (If you haven't seen Kutch, you haven't seen anything)" ensured more footfalls than ever.
"The story in our political system was of promising and not delivering. Modi has broken that negative cycle," says Musa Abbas, 38, one of the newly elected BJP councillors.
Haji Ali Adam Bhaya, Small boat owner, Salaya
But facts on the ground paint a very different picture. Jobs matter. So does overall economic betterment. Clean drinking water, good roads and respite from mosquitoes are welcome. Figuring that Muslims, like all Gujaratis, want a better life is not rocket science. It may only be a matter of time before the message goes national.
Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gujarat-muslims-are-voting-for-narendra-modi/1/258161.html
Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gujarat-muslims-are-voting-for-narendra-modi/1/258161.html
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