Agra The Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP) has thrown a shock by giving tickets to 19 Muslim corporator candidates in Aligarh in a transfer that some referred to as ‘strategic’ made for political good points.
Aligarh Municipal Company, which has 90 wards, will go to polls within the second part of city native physique elections on Might 11. Within the final civic elections in 2017, the BJP misplaced the Aligarh mayor seat to Bahujan Samaj Get together’s Mohammad Furqan.
“We’ve given tickets to 19 Muslim candidates this time for corporator elections to be held within the 90 wards in Aligarh. Individuals from the Muslim group are quick realising that it’s only the BJP that cares for all with none discrimination. All deserving beneficiaries are getting homes, fuel connections, Ayushman playing cards and ration below the varied welfare schemes of the Centre and the state,” mentioned Vivek Saraswat, the town unit president of the BJP in Aligarh.
“Earlier than, we by no means had candidates from the Muslim group ready to contest on a BJP ticket, however issues have modified now. Each ward had a number of aspirants from the group,” Saraswat, who believes that the social gathering’s stand towards ‘triple talaq’ was praised by many Muslims, added.
Prof Rahat Abrar, a political analyst, nonetheless, felt that the transfer was extra of a ‘technique’ made for political good points as a substitute of being the altering equations between the social gathering and Muslims.
Rahat, who retired because the director of the Urdu Academy, Aligarh Muslim College, noticed that the BJP gave tickets to Muslim candidates from wards that have been dominated by minority voters. “The BJP stands no probability there. So it needs to extend its base there,” he mentioned.
“It’s completely a political plan meant to interrupt floor in Muslim-dominated areas. This will additionally have an effect on the mayor election, which the BJP had misplaced in 2017,” acknowledged Prof Abrar.
Whereas the Samajwadi Get together and the BSP have fielded Muslim candidates for the mayor submit, the BJP has nominated a not-so-politically-known determine in its bid to reclaim the submit that it had by no means misplaced until 2017.
Weeks in the past, the BJP named Prof Tariq Mansoor, the V-C of Aligarh Muslim College, as its candidate for the MLC seat from the area.
