How BJP’s Muslim Candidates In Haryana Hope To Shift The Vote Base

“Yeh Naseem vidhayak ka gaon hai ji (this village belongs to MLA Naseem),” Shehnaz, in her late 30s, sarcastically said, pointing towards overflowing drains, water-logged road with potholes and muddy bumps that welcome visitors at Tigaon in Nuh district’s Firozpur Jhirka Assembly constituency.

The ancestral village of former two-term Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) legislator Naseem Ahmed, who is contesting the upcoming Haryana election on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from the southern Haryana’s Mewat region, is far from the tall claims of development. About 100 metres from where the road starts stands the palatial building of the ex-lawmaker, but the village – which has over 2,500 voters – “lacks basic facilities such as clean drinking water, a high school and well-equipped healthcare facility”.

Before Shehnaz could elaborate further, a young boy, Wasim, interrupted – showing a purported video wherein 45-year-old Naseem can be seen addressing a public meeting in a threatening tone. “A few people are indulging in smear campaign against me, they must stop it. Jab tak todenge nahin, tab tak chodenge nahin (We won’t stop until we break it),” the BJP nominee can be heard telling the crowd, without explaining who or what he wants to break.

“Is this how a leader speaks?” asks Wasim, claiming that the ex-MLA is threatening his political opponents of consequences for speaking against him.

The villagers complained there is a perception that Muslims have least focus on education. “It’s a big village where you are right now, but has just one upper primary school. The secondary and higher secondary schools are far from here. We cannot send our children that far because of security concerns. Even the school we have in the village has insufficient number of teachers. Children go there to mark their attendance only. They are not getting education at all,” said Nasrat Anjum, the daughter-in-law of the village, who is among the first women with master's and bachelor's degrees in geography and education in her kitty.

Naseem has inherited politics from his father, who was elected as an MLA thrice in Firozpur Jhirka in 1977, 1982 and 1991, first as an independent candidate and then as a Congress party nominee. He also served as a minister in the state government in his last 10 years.

After his father, Naseem took the political plunge and won his first assembly election in 2009 at the age of 29 as the INLD candiadte. He was re-elected in 2014. Following division in the INLD, he parted ways and joined the BJP in 2019. He contested from the seat as a saffron party candidate but lost to Congress’s Mamman Khan – who is seeking another term in the state assembly.

The fight in the constituency, locals said, is intense with the Congress candidate having a clear edge. The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and the INLD too have fielded its candidates; however, the locals said, they won’t be able to dent Khan’s prospects as they are “not so popular” among the masses.

Naseem seemingly does not have the support of his extended family. One of his nephews, Fakhruddin, who is a trader of stone dust (used as building construction material), declared he is going to vote for him as he is so “incompetent that he could not get built 200-metre road in his own village, which kept electing his father and him”. “He does not even deserve to go to people seeking their vote and support,” said the 42-year-old man.

Asked why they were angry with Naseem as he is not the sitting MLA from the constituency, Fakhruddin and others lamented, “Though he lost in the previous election, his party has been in power with full majority for the past 10 years. He could have got it done.”

Shamim, a resident of Badkali Chowk who works as a contractor of building materials, argued that communal tensions have increased since the BJP came to power in 2014. He believes that this environment has hindered the electoral success of the BJP’s Muslim candidates.

“Mewat is traditionally known as an inclusive society where people live together irrespective of their caste, creed and religion. But killings and assaults in the name of gau raksha (cow protection) have of late become a norm. The perpetrators enjoy government patronage. These cow vigilantes are least bothered about cow protection; rather they operate an extortion racket in its name. The July 31, 2023, communal violence during a Shobha Yatra (a Hindu religious procession) vitiated the brotherhood in the region. We kept calling Naseem for his intervention, but never responded to any phone calls. When youth were selectively picked up and false cases were registered against them – many of whom are still languishing in jail – he once again did not do anything for his community and preferred to sit idle and keep sleeping,” he alleged.

A Significant Shift

The BJP's choice to field two Muslim candidates from the Muslim-majority constituencies of Ferozepur Jhirka and Punahana respectively marks a significant change in the party’s strategy in the Mewat region, where Muslims constitute a substantial portion of the voter base.

As the BJP is aligned with Hindutva interests, its appeal to Muslim voters is a matter of doubt. The saffron party has only fielded seven Muslim candidates over the last five assembly elections, and none of them were able to secure victories. However, these candidates have managed to increase vote shares in their respective constituencies. This suggests that, despite ideological barriers, there exists a segment of Muslim voters willing to support the BJP.

The upcoming elections are particularly crucial for the BJP, which aims to regain ground in areas where it has previously struggled. In Ferozepur Jhirka, the 2009 Assembly polls saw the BJP’s Hindu candidate win just 5.29% of the vote share. But in 2014, when the party fielded a Muslim leader from the state, it managed to increase its vote share to 12.09%. That year, Naseem Ahmed was the Indian National Lok Dal’s (INLD) candidate and he managed to win with a 29.47% vote share. In 2019, Ahmed was the BJP candidate from the state and though he managed to increase his vote share to 32.4%, he finished second behind the Congress’s Mamman Khan who had a 57.62% vote share.

Similarly, in Punahana, the BJP’s past attempts to engage Muslim voters have had mixed results. In the 2009 elections, the party managed only 1.03% of the vote share, but a Muslim candidate in 2014 increased this to 21.67%, finishing just behind the winner. In 2019, when a Hindu candidate was fielded, the vote share plummeted again to 17.65%. The return to a Muslim candidate in this election reflects the party’s hope to reconnect with the Muslim electorate.

In the Nuh constituency, where 70% of voters identify as Muslim, the BJP has struggled historically. In 1991, a Muslim candidate garnered only 7.84% of the votes. Over the years, the party attempted different strategies, even fielding a Hindu candidate in 2009, which temporarily boosted their vote share to 19.61%. In 2019, the party saw a resurgence with a Muslim candidate who nearly doubled the vote share to 38.55%, trailing Congress by just a few percentage points.

Naseem believes that changing perceptions among Muslim voters could benefit the party this election cycle. “Muslims earlier were associated with the Congress and the INLD, but now they are coming closer to the BJP. They are reaping the benefits of welfare schemes without discrimination,” he noted, expressing optimism about the upcoming elections. “Muslim voters would favour the BJP,” he stated.

On the other hand, the Congress has criticised the BJP’s record. Addressing a rally at Nuh APMC mandi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, suggested the party’s “anti-Muslim rhetoric has alienated a particular community”.

Despite challenges, Naseem maintained the party has made significant inroads with Muslim voters in recent years. “Muslims are increasingly attending our rallies and programs. Development in Nuh over the last decade, including government job opportunities for nearly 8,000 residents, has helped us gain trust,” said Naseem.

As the elections approach, the BJP’s strategy to field Muslim candidates may reflect a broader effort to reshape its image and connect with diverse voter groups in Haryana, particularly in regions where traditional support has waned. The outcome of this approach will be closely watched as voters head to the polls.