BJP eyeing Muslim votes in Kundalji
The by-election in Uttar Pradesh’s Muslim-dominated Kundalki assembly constituency has turned into a battle for change and trust. While the BJP is trying to bring about change, the BJP is trying to maintain its trust. The BJP is busy making inroads into the Muslim community, the core vote bank of the Samajwadi Party, and is making every effort to do so. In this series, on the last day of the campaign, Thakur Ramveer Singh, the BJP candidate from Kundalki Assembly constituency, is weighed in with currency notes by the Muslim community. Even before this, the Muslim community had collected Rs 20 lakh and given it to Ramveer Singh, but the question is, will the Muslim voters also vote for the BJP like currency notes?
Since Kundalki is a Muslim-dominated parliamentary seat, the BJP can win only once. Thirty-one years ago, in the 1993 elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Chandra Vijay Singh succeeded in making Kamal shine and the BJP has not been able to win the seat since then. The SP has established its supremacy thanks to Muslim votes and the BJP is trying to defeat it this time with its own “political weapons”. Except for the BJP’s Ramveer Singh, all political parties including the Samajwadi Party, the Janata Party and the Owaisi Party have fielded Muslim candidates. The main rival of the BJP is Haji Rizwan of the Socialist Party.
BJP eyeing Muslim votes
Since it is a Muslim-dominated seat, winning Kundalki looks like a herculean task for the BJP. The BJP knows that it cannot win the Kundalki seat on Hindu votes alone. In this context, Thakur Ramveer Singh, who is contesting for the third time on behalf of the BJP, has focused on Muslim votes from the beginning. The Muslim community also took notice of Ramveer Singh when he was seen wandering from village to village asking for votes with a hat on his head and a completely Muslim look.
The weight of banknotes is equal to the weight of Ramveer Singh
Two videos of BJP candidate Ramveer Singh Thakur have surfaced. Mundhapande village in Kundarki constituency is majority Muslim. Ramveer Thakur is here to address a street rally. People from the Muslim community first weighed Ramveer by placing an electronic fork on the stage, then placed a note in a box and weighed it so that it was equal to his weight. The money was raised through mutual donations from people in the Muslim community.
As Ramveer Singh walked off the stage after addressing a public rally in Mundhapande village, people from the Muslim community also gave him money as a sign of good fortune. Some people took out Rs 100 and some Rs 500 notes from their pockets and gave them to the BJP candidate. Ramveer Thakur expressed his gratitude to the people by placing money donated by the Muslim community on his forehead. Muslims in the village told Ramveer Singh that we will break the myth that Muslims do not vote for the BJP. We will vote for Ramveer and provide instructions for the campaign.
What is the equation for Kundarki constellation?
Muslim voters play a decisive role in Kundalki Assembly seat. Muslim voters account for 62%, or about 150,000. There are about 40,000 Turkic Muslims in Kundalki and about 100,000 from other Muslim castes. Apart from this, about 18% are Dalit voters and the rest are Hindu voters. Thakur received the highest number of Hindu votes, followed by the Saini community. SP and BSP won here only because of Muslim votes. The biggest challenge facing the BJP is to achieve victory, which will not be possible without Muslim votes.
In Moradabad district, the doors of BJP leaders and former MPs Sarvesh Singh and Thakur Ramveer Singh have always been open to Muslims. Sarvesh Singh has passed away and Thakur Ramveer Singh is still alive. Ramveer Singh did not get a large number of Muslim votes due to the participation of Muslim candidates. SP and BSP have put Turkish Muslims as candidates. Former MLA Haji Rizwan from SP, Rafatullah alias Chhidda from BSP, Mohd AIMIM from Owaisi. Haji Chand Babu is contesting the elections from the Azad Samaj Party led by heir apparent Chandrashekhar Azad.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2022 Assembly elections, the Muslim community unanimously voted for the SP alliance. Regarding the Muslim voting pattern, there is a perception that the Muslim community voted just to defeat the BJP. In the 2022 elections, the Kundalki seat also followed the same pattern, with candidates from the Muslim community ranging from BSP to Owaisi being rejected. The vote went entirely to the Samajwadi Party, but judging by the way its candidate Ramveer Singh targeted the Muslim vote in the by-election, the BJP appears to have put its full weight on this seat.
Ramveer Singh adopts Muslim look
During his election campaign, Ramveer Singh wore a hat on his head and a bed sheet over his shoulders in Muslim areas to win over Muslim votes. Not only that, he also recited verses from the Quran among Muslims, and his speech style was very Muslim-like. Not only that, Ramveer Singh often stopped talking as soon as he heard the voice of Azan in the Muslim villages. In this way, the BJP candidate only focuses on Muslim votes, and the Muslim community also welcomes and respects him. But the question is, will the Muslim community also vote on November 20?
Muslim politics in Kundalki has been dominated by Turkish Muslims. In this election, the SP, BSP and Owaisi have also fielded Turkish Muslims as candidates and in response, the BJP is busy wooing Rajput Muslims. Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Ramveer Singh Thakur used all possible means to make inroads into the Muslim Rajput community. Ramveer keeps trying his luck in this seat, trying to win trust by claiming to be a Thakur. In this case, it now becomes clear whether the Muslim community will vote for the BJP or will they play political games?
