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BJP Fields 850 Muslim Candidates For Bengal Rural Elections
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has fielded 850 Muslim candidates for the 14 May rural elections in West Bengal, said the number would have topped 2,000 had the nomination process been peaceful.
In 2013, less than 100 Muslim candidates contested in the previous rural elections representing the party, which has fielded the highest number of candidates so far in West Bengal, this year.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the number reflects the confidence Muslims have in the development agenda of the party, which has “expanded its base in Bengal by leaps and bounds”.
“We are running the government at the Centre and in more than 20 states, Muslims are living in peace and there are no problems.”
Saying the party will employ this strategy in the 2019 general election also depending on the winnability of the candidates, Ghosh said, “We will not give tickets because of religion or caste but only on the criteria of ‘winnability’.”
The ruling TMC, however, dismissed BJP’s outreach strategy, and said while they have faith in party chief Mamata Banerjee, the “minorities have full faith in us”.
Senior Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee accused the BJP of fielding minority candidates and fuelling riots in the state.
However, Bengal BJP Minority Morcha president Ali Hossain said that there is no surprise in the party reaching out to minorities as in a state like West Bengal, the Muslim population is near about 30 per cent.
Party sources said that former TMC leader Mukul Roy, who is now in the BJP, was instrumental in the selection of candidates for the polls that will play a significant role in setting up the stage for the general elections next year.
In the 20 Zilla Parishads, 203 of the 825 seats were uncontested, they said. The election to the remaining seats will be held on May 14.
After the withdrawal of candidature, the final list of BJP candidates in Zilla Parishad is 629, while in the Panchayat Samiti the party has 5218 candidates. In Gram Panchayat, the BJP has 23,445 candidates.
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