Did Muslims vote in fear for BJP In the 2012 Gujarat Assembly elections, 31% of Gujarati Muslims voted for Modi led BJP despite media and NGOs launching a high voltage campaign against Modi for being a “divisive” force in Indian politics. The enormous increase in Muslim vote for BJP was dismissed by Modi-Haters, including reputed political scientists , by saying that Muslims had voted for Modi out of fear. Those who hold this view need to hear Asifa Khan of Bharuch who joined the BJP a few weeks before the 2012 election after spending 4 years as the Congress spokesperson in Gujarat. Asifa is a highly respected public figure and her joining the BJP created a real stir. She is respected not just by fellow Muslims but also enjoys high level of prestige among the Hindus. ( The full text of interview with Asifa will be posted soon). Asifa had become a local celebrity as a successful journalist much before she was hand picked by Congress stalwart Ahmed Patel to join the Party as its spokesperson. She took on the job with as much enthusiasm and sincerity as she did her job as a journalist. But she quit the Congress after four years of hard work. This is how Asifa describes her experience of being a Congress worker and why an increasing number of Muslims, including herself, are gravitating towards Modi’s BJP. Being a journalist I got a chance to interact with many politicians and industrialists. Since I hail from Bharuch district, and Ahmed Patel sahib also hails from the same district, he knew me for years as a renowned journalist of the area. He knew I had very good reputation. I believe it is one of that reasons that he hand-picked me in 2008 as spokesperson of Congress party in Gujarat as well as Media Cell convenor of All India Mahila Congress. I do not recall that thus far he has handpicked anyone else from our district and given him/her such an important designation. Without contesting any elections and without any political background—I was not even an ordinary member of the Congress Party -- I was straight away given such a major responsibility. To my knowledge I did all justice to that responsibility and did everything I was asked to do. My job was media management for the Party, especially the publicity part. But I was not made to come face to face with the media. My job was behind the curtains. For example, if Rahul Gandhi was coming to Gujarat, I would design the program for him. We gave him the concept ofAbhay Udaan and invited him to visit Gujarat and interact with the youth. We used to give him questions to work on and the tentative list of problems the youth would like him to speak on. Sometimes I would be working till 1 a.m. in the night, discussing topics to be taken up by the Party and how we can make it work in the best possible way, what would Rahul be doing during his visit and how do we bring attention to the issues we want to highlight. I am the kind of person, when given responsibility I do it to the best potential I have. In the 4 years I spent working for the Congress party, I came to see that the hard core issues and problems of people are not being addressed the way they should be doing. We were lacking leadership at the Gujarat state level which means that any issue that comes up doesn’t get solved at the state level, you need to send it to a higher authority or to Delhi and once you go with those issues to Delhi, it is either too late to be addressed or the hands of the national leaders are full. Issues that are important at the grass root level seem to be immaterial or small in front of the “national” issues and left aside or remain unattended. This creates a boomerang effect at the grass root level because people feel let down at their problems being ignored. For example, when a widow whose husband was in the postal department came to me for employment, this is a central government issue. They have promised her a job but she is not getting it. She comes to us with genuine papers once, twice, or thrice but if we cannot help her with her problem, we are not able to go and show our faces back to her. She will carry an image that Congress doesn’t work. When I went to Kutch to interact with the Muslims, they said that earlier they were with the Congress but moved over to BJP. I was curious to know why they switched over to BJP. They said whenever we needed the slightest help of the Congress Party leaders in getting something done from the bureaucracy—such as license for a shop—we got no response. At times we could not even get an appointment; often there is no one there to listen to citizens with grievances. But in BJP we get prompt hearing. BJP leaders are receptive and accessible. One of the Muslim shopkeepers told me a friend of his took him to a BJP leader who promptly gave an appointment and sorted out the issue. He said to me, why should I not join the BJP? My house is running because of the BJP leaders and the councillor who actually helped me in earning my bread by getting me license for my shop. That is why, I switched over to BJP. Another illustrative incident among many others in my hometown is that of a young boy running a small Chinese food kiosk. He joined the BJP way back in 2006. I asked him the reason and he explained saying, ‘See I was finding a problem to get a hawker’s license for my kiosk. I kept visiting various Congress leaders, including councillors, and yet nothing turned up. I am the sole bread winner of a family of 6. Ultimately, in sheer desperation I sought the help of a friend to introduce me to the BJP MLA. This MLA promptly took me to the relevant department and sorted out my problem by getting me a license from the Nagar Palika level. Now when my friend comes and says ‘Why don’t you put a BJP banner on your lorry how can I refuse him? I am here today because of my friend who took me to a BJP MLA”. Let me give you another example: when Muslims go for Hajj, there is a formality that they need to get some documents signed by someone who has official authority. People often go to their area’s MLA for that. In my district, when Muslims try to get an appointment with a Congress Muslim MLA, they do not manage to get one, whereas when they call up a Hindu BJP MLA, they get a prompt response. They are called in immediately and the forms are signed promptly. Forms for Hajj pilgrimage are signed by BJP’s Hindu MLAs, without a fuss but Congress Muslims are very hard to get even for small things. These are indications of how BJP is being very helpful to Muslims at the ground level. They are extending their hand of friendship and they are non-arrogant. They give you an appointment without much fuss and help you without any discrimination. In Bharuch, during the last municipal election, both the BJP and the Congress gave tickets to a Muslim candidate in a particular mohalla. But it is BJP’s Muslim candidate who won. This clearly shows that BJP is being preferred by Muslims despite the fact that this particular area is part of Ahmed Patel Sahib’s political base who is a big national leader. But he has no time to attend his constituency problems while the local Congress team is dysfunctional. They just want to go for photo ops when the big national leaders arrive. They are just for namesake otherwise people would respond to them in elections. No wonder, day by day the Congress is losing in this state. Why are they out of power for the past 22 years? Out of 8 Municipal Corporations, 7 Municipal Corporations are run by the BJP. Why is it that Congress is not functioning properly even at the district level. They won in very few Zila Parishads. All the others are with BJP. Go further down, why is it that of the current Taluka Parishads in Gujarat, not even one is with the Congress? That means the party is finished at the ground level. The Congress does not have a single credible face in Gujarat. That is why they are relying on BJP rejects. Did you hear any of the national leaders saying that this is the person that we are projecting as the chief minister? They didn’t have a face till the last moment. The Congress says that wherever Rahul ji went, we won the seats in that constituency. Then what stopped them from taking him all over Gujarat? If they so desperately wanted Gujarat this time, all their national leaders were proclaiming that they would win this time and if they say that wherever Rahul went he got a seat, what stopped them from taking him to 100 or 182 constituencies? This means that there is something dubious in the way they function. They took him only to places they thought will save his face and stature. If you come at the last moment, you won’t get any response. You have to be there 365 days of the year to engage with people to win their hearts. Modi ji was there with the people all the time; he attended numerous public events, constantly engaging with his people, responding to their needs and making the administration work to a purpose. And when he’s there and keeps a watchful eye, the cabinet also works, the bureaucracy is also responsive, the Zilla Parishads and town councils also work, which means the entire system works. Because the leader works, everybody under him is functioning. Why else would people come out in such large numbers to vote for BJP? Muslims did so because they developed active interest in governance. In Bharuch, we have 38% Muslim voters, while the Vaghra constituency where I stay has 44% Muslims. It was a Congress bastion for years and years. Congress was confident that even if they lose entire Gujarat, they would win in Vaghra. Of the 44% Muslim voters, we could get around 28-30% Muslims voting for the BJP. In the coming years, it is definitely going to increase. The Election Commission did the best job they could in Gujarat. Barring one small incident, there was no untoward incident anywhere in Gujarat. Our elections are not held under disturbed conditions as in UP or Bihar. It was the most peaceful election. People came out on their own because they liked the leader his style of governance. 31% Muslims of Gujarat voted for the BJP. Not a single seat in Bharuch district – supposedly a stronghold of Ahmed Patel – went to the Congress. We took Ankleshwar, Jambusar, Bharuch and Vagra. The Jaghadia seat went to JDU. Inshallah, in the next election we will take back the JDU seat also. Page 3 of 4 I did not join the BJP at the spur of the moment or due to this or that incident. As a Muslim, I keenly observed that for the first time in decades there has been peace in the state. For 11 years there have been no riots, no curfews. As a field reporter I have seen riots very closely. I have seen that the same Gujarat which was unmanageable and constantly exploding has become manageable under Mr Modi. Whatever happened in 2002 was very unfortunate. But I also recall that the Modi government was only 4 months old and he had absolutely no administrative experience. He started his journey as CM with lot of disadvantages and negative baggage. There was a major earthquake in 2001 and a long legacy of riots. Watch videos of Asifa Khan at: youtu.be/nxeCmHeJl4k youtu.be/ag03GFj_uSY youtu.be/b2zJZ7MQIk0 youtu.be/wWfSraAdlg8 youtu.be/9fi8Bkh3KvE youtu.be/fJKb0s9SagY youtu.be/k3zEQCZNtzs youtu.be/pyTsMjVUV0o And yet in 2003 itself he came up with the Vibrant Gujarat movement. Right from day one, he was development obsessed. He came up with major water projects like WASMO. Muslims can see that his team is working and there is no bias against them. Therefore, they started gravitating towards him. 2007 was a major testing time for us. We saw that no communal issues were raised by the BJP. Even in the 2002 elections, Modi was focusing mainly on development. There were no attacks on Muslims but the media created needless furore over a phrase like Mian Musharraf. It was the Congress Party which tried to play manipulative politics by using words like “maut ka saudagar” for Modi ji. BJP did not use such communal rhetoric. This is what the Muslims and everybody else in Gujarat likes. Moreover, we saw that there were police firings in 2002 to stop riotous mobs. Within 3 days everything was under control. The only disadvantage was that media did not focus on the positive actions taken by the government to save Muslim lives and bring down the riots. Remember, since 1947 there have been 11000 communal riots in Gujarat. Did any of the previous chief ministers undertake a Sadbhavna Mission or work for national integration? Mind you, Modi did not start the Sadbhavna Yatra in a vacuum. For years before that, he actually put it into practice. Because he brought peace, prosperity followed easily. When there is peace people like to work, study and go for new jobs. He opened many new educational and career advancement opportunities for Gujaratis. There has been all round development and Muslims are getting equal benefits. Today Muslims don’t feel discriminated against. No development scheme has come in the name of minorities. Everything is in the name of Gujaratis. When he brought the coastal development scheme, there were no special baits for OBCs, Muslims or this or that section. But Muslims benefited equally. This is national integration in the real sense. All of us rise above narrow sectional identities and take pride in the collective development of Gujaratis. Even while I was in the Congress Party I was watching all these developments. But as an opposition party, your job is to blame and criticize the BJP. My job was to find faults with Mr Modi and I couldn’t find any. In fact, I started finding faults with my own leaders and saying why aren’t we doing what they are doing? Why aren’t we working for national integration? Why are we opposing Modiji for doing it? We should bring in schemes that benefit all. Why are we playing divisive politics based on caste or religion? Here is someone who is showing by example how to go about it! I think, this minority labelling is a shameful game. We want to be treated as equals. That is what we are getting now. We are competent enough to find our own place. On this score I was again and again disappointed with the Congress. Someone in my shoes should never have left the Congress because they gave me a big position. The man closest to Soniaji, her top notch political advisor was my mentor, my patron. I could have basked in the glory and stuck to it all my life. But I have chosen politics as a medium to serve my people, to attend to their grievances. I had the daring to say that this is wrong, I don’t like it. I had been communicating this to the national leaders off and on. But no one paid heed. Finally I decided to go and meet Narendra bhai Modi. I told myself his government is doing a good job; they brought hundreds of Muslims in as elected representatives at the panchayat, municipal and district level. Congress had been in power for nearly four decades. They never got as many Muslims elected in those long years as BJP has done in the last 10 years. Do you know that the Haj Committee and the Waqf Board of Gujarat were as good as defunct during Congress rule? The party did not even bother to fill vacant positions. During Modi’s tenure, all these Boards have been filled up and activated. Not only that, they have been given the status of full-fledged Corporations which means we are given more funds more powers, more autonomy to operate our Haj and Waqf Boards. They have become fully energized now. Even the Sachar Committee Report said that the recommendations made by them have been implemented best in Gujarat as compared to any other state in the country. That committee was appointed by the Centre and yet it had to acknowledge the good work done by Gujarat. That is why I felt a strong urge to meet Modiji. I am the kind of person who doesn’t take anybody’s help while seeking an appointment because I feel I might be imbued with the colour he carries. I needed to meet him on my own. It was a very easy task to get an appointment. I just made a phone call to his office and left my name and number. I didn’t even leave my designation. I just called him up as a Muslim woman from Bharuch and said that I needed to talk to him. That’s the entire message that I left. I got a call back and was given an appointment which was scheduled for just 5 minutes. But those 5 minutes turned into 55. Neither did I realize that I talked for so long, nor did Modiji point out to me that I’ve exceeded the time given to me. It was a one-on-one meeting. He listened to me very intently. Many people were waiting outside to meet him. Only when I came out and looked at my watch did I realize I had talked to him for nearly an hour. That is the moment I decided I am going to work for him because I found his attitude perfectly positive. In any case, he was already time tested. So I joined BJP in October 2012, just a month before elections. I was told to handle my own press conference. He left it totally to me. Even other BJP leaders did not give me any instructions. If you watch that press conference, you will see for yourself that whatever I said came straight from my heart. Nobody gave me any directions. I got very high coverage. I explained what I found admirable in the Modi government and the media was free to ask me any number of questions. Asifa Khan at a press conference After that press conference I became an important media face for the BJP. It is noteworthy that while the party headquarter would ask me to appear for this or that media interview, press conference or a talk show on TV, I was never tutored to say this or that. It was marvellous to feel so trusted, especially for a new comer like me who had not been groomed by party leaders, who had not been trained about party line. I was given full freedom to say what I thought fit. It was the same story during the election campaign meetings. For example, when Modi ji came to Vagra, I delivered the speech just before his address. Being asked to deliver a speech just before the CM’s is high compliment. You must hear that speech. The trust they reposed in me gave a new edge to my oratorical skills. I got phone calls from all over the country appreciating my speech. On the day of the results, which was a big day for us, I was asked by the party to sit live before such a gamut of TV channels that I lost count. Right from 8 o clock in the morning till 9.30 p.m., without any break, just a bit of water and a bit of Prasad is all I had while appearing as BJP spokesperson on that historic day. During my Congress days, I was not asked to do such things. They knew that I could speak but I was only a background person. They knew that I was a press reporter and a public figure for 17-18 years. But they didn’t utilise my skills, they used me only for background work. After the elections of 2012, I got calls from the Congress Party saying that ‘you never did such work for us’. I replied that you never asked me to do such things for you; it was the same Asifa Khan with you for 4 years. If you cannot utilise my potentials and talents, it isn’t my fault. I did all you wanted me to do with full sincerity. Asifa’s story of such easy acceptance within the BJP came as a surprise to me. It seemed logical to ask her whether she felt resented by others, whether they were jealous of her quick rise to prominence. She said: “No. There are two types of discriminations. First kind is when they try to push you down because you are a woman. In most of the male dominated societies, you might feel at some or the other point in life that you are being kept down. I didn’t get that feeling. On the contrary, senior leaders were happy to guide and help me whenever I needed backup support with facts or whatever. I used to get print outs with figures and facts. Being a minority I was never discriminated, being a female I wasn’t discriminated and being a new comer I wasn’t discriminated. I never got the sense that they were jealous of me for being projected in a high profile manner. In fact, all these things turned in my favour. From day one everything was in my favour. In the first place was the acceptance from the CM from the moment he met me. He recognised my potential. When I asked her if like Zafar Sareshwala she faced any hostility from the Muslim community for having joined the BJP, this is what she had to say: Zafar bhai began engaging with Modi ji in 2002 when there was blind prejudice against Modi ji. Muslims did not really know him then. Now he is time tested. Therefore, Muslim community’s response to my joining BJP has been marvellous! They were very happy. You should check out the enthusiastic response of Gujarati Muslims to my public meetings through the TV footage of those days available on You Tube.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 07:40:43 +0000
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