New Delhi, Apr 28 The more things change, the more they look the same.
In terms of BJP’s relations with religious groups, the Christians and the Muslims have always held the saffron party in suspicion.
In fact, there were also two Sikh prominent BJP nominees – Hardeep Singh Puri from Amritsar in Punjab and S S Ahluwalia from Bardhaman-Durgapur parliamentary constituency in West Bengal.
The saffron party's Christian candidates in Meghalaya are Rikman G Momin as its candidate for Tura parliamentary constituency and three-time MLA Sanbor Shullai as another nominee for the Shillong seat.
In Manipur, H Shokhopao Mate Benjamin is a tribal Christian nominee from Inner Manipur.
In Mizoram, BJP nominee has been Nirupam Chakma - a Buddhist but the fight is considered only as part of tokenism. The state's ruling MNF is a constituent of BJP-led NEDA in the north east.
In Nagaland, no BJP candidate in the Lok Sabha polls this time as the party backed NDPP nominee – Thokheho Yepthomi, also a Christian.
Abdul Khader is the BJP candidate from Lakshadweep (ST) Parliamentary constituency.
Interestingly, with the BJP decision to field Union Minister of State Hardeep Singh Puri as its candidate from Amritsar, the constituency is set for a ‘rare’ contest between Sikhs.
The Congress has already announced the candidature of sitting MP Gurjit Singh Aujla. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from a constituency which has 65 per cent Sikh voters.
In Karnataka, BJP leader K S Eshwarappa, a former deputy chief minister, recently courted controversy when he reportedly told media that his party ‘intentionally’ avoided having Christians as BJP candidates.
“The Christians, like the Muslims, were not given party tickets in our state because Christians are not honest,” he said reportedly.
Predictably, Christians have reacted to the statement also. Archbishop Peter Machado in Bengaluru said the BJP leader’s statement “has done great harm to Christians and discredited their community’s credibility”.
He also demanded that Mr Eshwarappa should “withdraw” his statement and tender an unconditional apology.
Jangipur (West Bengal), Apr 22 (UNI) All eyes are on the third phase of parliamentary elections in West Bengal as polling will be held in five key constituencies of Jangipur, Balurghat, Murshidabad, Maldaha Uttar and Maldaha Dakshin on Tuesday.
“There is a cheap campaign by Trinamool on Abhijit Mukherjee being helped by RSS workers,” a local Congress worker said here adding “Mamata Banerjee and others are dragging the good office of former President Pranab Mukherjee into the electoral fray and trying to give a message that a large number of RSS workers are backing Abhijit”.
This is “far from truth” – says BJP source. But some workers in the Congress admit at best it could be ‘half truth’ as somehow the BJP leaders are not targeting Abhijit Mukherjee personally.
“The reasons can be anything, but certainly not RSS-Pranab babu nexus. It is very low level campaign,” the Congress worker said.
Sources said Trinamool leaders are regularly giving an impression that Pranab Mukherjee has tried to ‘cultivate’ the RSS by his attending a special RSS session in Nagpur last year.
“This is only an electoral strategy. Desperate Mamata Banerjee is trying to deprive Abhijit Mukherjee the minority votes. But it is sad that a leader of such a stature is doing so for a senior colleague and former President Pranabda,” says another local Congress leader Nimai Purkayastha in Umarpur – that falls under Jangipur.
In Umarpur, a BJP worker also agreed to the point that the Trinamool Congress is trying to win over minority votes in this constituency by such campaigns.
“Notably, 50 per cent of voters in Jangipur make a particular religious group. Hence, while all eyes are on the star candidate and sitting Congress MP Abhijit Mukherjee, rest all three main parties – the Trinamool Congress, BJP and the CPI-M have fielded minority candidates," he says.
Certainly, this is not without good reasons. Mamata Banerjee’s candidate is Khalilur Rehman
The BJP has fielded Mafooza Khatun – who has pledged to work for the welfare of the local Bidi workers.
Mohammad Julfikar Ali of CPI-M talks about erosion in river Ganga and how it has hit the people in the region. He says both the Congress and Trinamool Congress have failed with their opportunistic approaches.
But at times – the CPI-M leaders are faced with the ‘embarrassment’ and have to go defensive as the party leadership had undertaken seat adjustments with the Congress in 2016 assembly elections.
“Our experience is that the Congress benefited by such an alliance. They got our votes, but the Congress vote never got transferred, and we suffered,” says CPI-M worker Jishu Ghosh.
In terms of BJP’s relations with religious groups, the Christians and the Muslims have always held the saffron party in suspicion.
Many would not even hesitate to join the campaign that India's ‘secular character’ is at stake under the BJP-led dispensation.
Even as Muslims are 'presumed' to have voted in favour of BJP nominees in 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh and also during the state assembly elections in 2017 and Christians inched closer to the saffron party in north east, there were doubts nevertheless that if ‘communal forces’ are not halted, the largest democracy in the world could fall prey to ‘destruction’ of old social structures.
However, according to BJP sources in the run up to the polls of 2019 and the 'exultant journey' in making of a 'New India', the saffron party strategists fielded candidates from both the minority communities.
The claim is true but the BJP minority candidates would be around a dozen only.
In fact, there were also two Sikh prominent BJP nominees – Hardeep Singh Puri from Amritsar in Punjab and S S Ahluwalia from Bardhaman-Durgapur parliamentary constituency in West Bengal.
BJP fielded three Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir: M M War nominated to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Baramulla, Khalid Jahangir from Srinagar and Sofi Youssaf from Anantnag in Jammua and Kashmir.
In West Bengal, the Lotus party rested faith in a Muslim woman, Mahfuza Khatun, who was given ticket in Jangipur constituency where her rivals included two other Muslims and Congress candidate Abhijit Mukherjee, son of former President Pranab Mukherjee.
In Jangipur, Khalilur Rehman is the Trinamool nominee and the CPI(M) has fielded Zulfikar Ali.
It is worth mentioning that the former President Mr Mukherjee represented Jangipur from 2004 to 2012 – a full one and a half term.
For BJP, another Muslim candidate in West Bengal has been Humayun Kabir from Murshidabad.
In Kerala, party's new found Christian face and Union Minister K J Alphons has been fielded from Ernakulum - where he will sweat it out against P. Rajeev of the CPI-M and Hibi Eden of the Congress.
BJP has backed the candidature of Kerala Congress (Mani) nominee P C Thomas from Kottayam.
The saffron party's Christian candidates in Meghalaya are Rikman G Momin as its candidate for Tura parliamentary constituency and three-time MLA Sanbor Shullai as another nominee for the Shillong seat.
In Manipur, H Shokhopao Mate Benjamin is a tribal Christian nominee from Inner Manipur.
In Mizoram, BJP nominee has been Nirupam Chakma - a Buddhist but the fight is considered only as part of tokenism. The state's ruling MNF is a constituent of BJP-led NEDA in the north east.
In Nagaland, no BJP candidate in the Lok Sabha polls this time as the party backed NDPP nominee – Thokheho Yepthomi, also a Christian.
Abdul Khader is the BJP candidate from Lakshadweep (ST) Parliamentary constituency.
Interestingly, with the BJP decision to field Union Minister of State Hardeep Singh Puri as its candidate from Amritsar, the constituency is set for a ‘rare’ contest between Sikhs.
The Congress has already announced the candidature of sitting MP Gurjit Singh Aujla. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from a constituency which has 65 per cent Sikh voters.
In Karnataka, BJP leader K S Eshwarappa, a former deputy chief minister, recently courted controversy when he reportedly told media that his party ‘intentionally’ avoided having Christians as BJP candidates.
“The Christians, like the Muslims, were not given party tickets in our state because Christians are not honest,” he said reportedly.
Predictably, Christians have reacted to the statement also. Archbishop Peter Machado in Bengaluru said the BJP leader’s statement “has done great harm to Christians and discredited their community’s credibility”.
He also demanded that Mr Eshwarappa should “withdraw” his statement and tender an unconditional apology.
Can ‘Cheap Publicity’ by Trinamool on Pranab-RSS nexus derail ‘son’ Abhijit?
Jangipur (West Bengal), Apr 22 (UNI) All eyes are on the third phase of parliamentary elections in West Bengal as polling will be held in five key constituencies of Jangipur, Balurghat, Murshidabad, Maldaha Uttar and Maldaha Dakshin on Tuesday.
In Jangipur, the competition is getting tougher by the hour as Congress nominee and sitting MP Abhijiit Mukherjee is facing more aggressive and personal attack from the Trinamool Congress.
In the run up to the polls, none other than Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee has slammed Abhijit Mukherjee more than once for his ‘failure’ as the lawmaker during his stint as an elected member since 2012.
It was in 2012 by-election first, Mr Abhijit won on the Congress ticket after his father and the former President Pranab Mukherjee had vacated his seat.
Even as Mr Abhijit won the seat in 2016 state assembly polls again, the victory margin came down to a modest 2500.
According to sources in the BJP and the Congress, the Mamata Banerjee-led outfit is indulging in ‘covert campaign’ trying to give out a repeated message that the RSS workers are working overtime to ensure victory of Mr Mukherjee.
“There is a cheap campaign by Trinamool on Abhijit Mukherjee being helped by RSS workers,” a local Congress worker said here adding “Mamata Banerjee and others are dragging the good office of former President Pranab Mukherjee into the electoral fray and trying to give a message that a large number of RSS workers are backing Abhijit”.
This is “far from truth” – says BJP source. But some workers in the Congress admit at best it could be ‘half truth’ as somehow the BJP leaders are not targeting Abhijit Mukherjee personally.
“The reasons can be anything, but certainly not RSS-Pranab babu nexus. It is very low level campaign,” the Congress worker said.
Sources said Trinamool leaders are regularly giving an impression that Pranab Mukherjee has tried to ‘cultivate’ the RSS by his attending a special RSS session in Nagpur last year.
“This is only an electoral strategy. Desperate Mamata Banerjee is trying to deprive Abhijit Mukherjee the minority votes. But it is sad that a leader of such a stature is doing so for a senior colleague and former President Pranabda,” says another local Congress leader Nimai Purkayastha in Umarpur – that falls under Jangipur.
In Umarpur, a BJP worker also agreed to the point that the Trinamool Congress is trying to win over minority votes in this constituency by such campaigns.
“Notably, 50 per cent of voters in Jangipur make a particular religious group. Hence, while all eyes are on the star candidate and sitting Congress MP Abhijit Mukherjee, rest all three main parties – the Trinamool Congress, BJP and the CPI-M have fielded minority candidates," he says.
Certainly, this is not without good reasons. Mamata Banerjee’s candidate is Khalilur Rehman
The BJP has fielded Mafooza Khatun – who has pledged to work for the welfare of the local Bidi workers.
Mohammad Julfikar Ali of CPI-M talks about erosion in river Ganga and how it has hit the people in the region. He says both the Congress and Trinamool Congress have failed with their opportunistic approaches.
But at times – the CPI-M leaders are faced with the ‘embarrassment’ and have to go defensive as the party leadership had undertaken seat adjustments with the Congress in 2016 assembly elections.
“Our experience is that the Congress benefited by such an alliance. They got our votes, but the Congress vote never got transferred, and we suffered,” says CPI-M worker Jishu Ghosh.
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