A step forward for the community is how Pasmanda Muslims, fielded by the BJP for the upcoming MCD polls, see their nomination by the party. A total of four Pasmanda Muslims, including three women, have been fielded. A total of 250 seats are being contested this time. Atif Rasheed, in-charge of the BJP's minority morcha, said, “This is the first time all Muslim candidates BJP is fielding are from the OBC community. Like the PM has also said, the Pasmanda community is backward financially and educationally. It is a welcome decision to field three women from this community. The AAP and Congress only see Pasmanda Muslims as a vote bank, while the BJP is giving them a shot at leadership. In areas where Pasmanda Muslims are in a majority, these parties have not fielded candidates from the community.” Five Muslim candidates contested the MCD polls last time, and of them, two tickets were given to Pasmanda Muslims, he said. Pasmanda Muslims are a backward, marginalised section of Muslims that the BJP has been trying to reach out to. At the BJP’s national executive conclave in Hyderabad earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked leaders to reach out to downtrodden sections of communities other than Hindus. The party had also organised a meeting of Pasmanda Muslims in Lucknow in October, a conference that was touted as the first of its kind. In Northeast Delhi’s Chauhan Bangar, where BJP has fielded Saba Gazi (32), a law graduate from the Pasmanda Muslim community, “90% of the population belongs to the Pasmanda Muslim community”, as per Rasheed. Similarly, in the other three wards as well, they are in a majority, he said. The three other Pasmanda Muslim candidates are Irfan Malik (50), who is contesting from Chandni Chowk’s Chandni Mahal; Samina Raza (47) from Quresh Nagar; and Shabnam Malik from Northeast Delhi’s Mustafabad. Raza is contesting the polls for the first time. “Modi ji ne ek dabi hui awaz ko ujagar kiya hain (Modi ji has awakened a suppressed voice). Pasmanda Muslims. This is a backward community,” she said. She is a mandal vice-president of the Mahila Morcha and is involved with social work. “There is a gap between the Muslim community and BJP, I’ve been working to try and fill it. to tell Muslims that BJP is not against the community,” she said. Raza said the area she is contesting from has a garbage issue: “There is no cleanliness, roads are broken. There is a parking issue as well. These are issues that I would like to focus on.” Irfan Malik, a scrap dealer, said, “The PM has said Pasmanda Muslims are to be uplifted. we are right at the bottom with little means. We work for daily wages and are not very educated. The PM has now focussed on us. The BJP has taken a step forward for us and made an effort towards upliftment of this community. The other parties treat us like use-and-throw commodities.” Gazi said she intended to practise law, but agreed to contest the polls after a push from her family. On four Pasmanda Muslims being fielded this time, she said, “Representation is a must. Parivaarvad should end and other people should be given an opportunity.” On the area she is contesting from, she said, “In every corner, there is garbage. Compared to other areas, there's little development here.”
