Varanasi : Muslims turned out in large numbers as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow passed through their localities here but the goodwill gesture may not translate into votes for BJP candidates in his parliamentary seat.
“Hamare prime minister hain. Banaras taraqqi karega to hum bhi karengein. But BJP wale humein pasand nahi karte. (He is our prime minister. If Vanarasi progresses, then so will we, but the BJP does not like us), says Rafiq Ahmed, a septuagenarian trader in Madanpura.
Muslims, comprising 20 per cent of total voters, appear to be solidly behind the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance here, virtually ruling out any serious split in their ranks on March 8, when the city goes to the polls.
A division in Muslims votes in 2012 played a role in the BJP’s win in all three assembly seats falling in the city. Asked if they would vote for Modi, some youths shot back, “How many Muslims have been fielded by the BJP in UP? Zero. We are 20 per cent in the state but not seen good enough even for one of the 403 seats. Why should we vote for him?”
If some Muslims give credit to the prime minister for launching developmental schemes aimed at Varanasi and increased cleanliness, there is also lot of resentment in the community over demonetisation, which has especially hit hard the weaving community, comprising mostly Muslims.
With their Banarasi sarees having lost sheen post note ban, many weavers express their unhappiness with the BJP’s policies. Besides there are old fault lines, including the party’s Hindutva pitch, that deeply divide the community and the saffron outfit.–PTI
