The Modi wave of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls is showing sure signs of fizzling out and along with that the waning support of the minority community in West Bengal should concern the state BJP ahead of the assembly elections. With less than 20 days to go before the first phase of polls here, the resignation of the BJP’s minority cell president, Shakeel Ansari, has dealt a heavy blow to the party. His allegation? Members of the minority community have been made a showpiece by the BJP in West Bengal while not a single seat has been allotted to any Muslim candidate in the 52 seats announced by the party so far. Muslim BJP workers from Labhpur in Birbhum district are all set to start an agitation on the issue and have already threatened a mass exodus unless their demands are met. [related-post] If the BJP intends to make any mark in the assembly elections, it cannot ignore the contribution of the Muslim population which comprises 28 per cent of the 30 per cent minority votes. The safest way for the BJP in WB to gain the confidence of Muslims is to appoint Muslims to some important positions at least in the state committee – like BJP has done at the Centre in the shape of Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Shahnawaz Hussain and more recently, MJ Akbar. The fact that there had never been a Muslim spokesperson for the party in West Bengal sticks out like a sore thumb amidst speeches for the welfare of ‘Musalman Bhai’ by BJP leaders. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has never backed out of the so called ‘Muslim appeasement schemes’ in spite of scathing criticism from the Opposition. Before the polls, she made her peace with most of the prominent Muslim leaders here and it is said that the Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Masjid had recently conducted a press conference urging people to vote for the TMC, under her instructions. So alarm bells should be ringing for the BJP. To make amends, the first step would be to name Muslim candidates in Muslim-dominated areas. Alternatively, the party might decide to write off the assembly elections and prepare for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, something BJP President Amit Shah had hinted at during his recent visit.
