Election sweep wins BJP Muslim volunteers

New Delhi: After sweeping the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the Delhi BJP is now aggressively making inroads in the Muslim-dominated wards in the national capital for the coming civic elections.

In the previous polls, the BJP used to struggle hard to find workers to manage its polling booths in the Muslim dominated belts. But this time around, the saffron party has already enrolled about 2,000 booth workers in the minority-dominated wards. What’s more surprising is that the 2,000-odd booth workers also include 900-odd people from the minority community.

A senior local BJP leader said soon after the results of the UP polls were out, the party started its drive in the Muslim-dominated wards to enroll workers for booth management in the civic polls. “We have identified 2,000-odd people to manage our 400 polling booths in the Muslim dominated wards.”

Well-placed sources in the party claimed that post Assembly elections, the result of four states — Uttrakhand, Goa, Manipur, and UP, members from the minority community in the city have started showing their interest in working for the saffron party at the grassroot level. There is a strong perception in the local BJP circles that Muslims too had voted for the party in the UP Assembly polls.

According to a senior party functionary, there are 600 booths in the minority-dominated areas where the BJP could hardly get workers to carry out political activities for city elections. The party, last month, invited five names from each booth to be nominated as “panch parmeshwar”. But  no person came forward from these 600 booths for the voter mobilisation drive for the coming civic polls. However, after the UP poll results, the scenario has changed as it has successfully nominated ‘panch parmeshwars’ in 400 booths. Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari also said that before the booth level workers’ convention, the party will be able to rope in workers from remaining 200 booths. “I have personally taken up this responsibility and working with district and block presidents. We will get five workers for all these booths in a day or two. These panch parmeshwars will help us connect with people. Five people from across different walks of life will be nominated for booth management including a youth, a senior citizen and a woman from each polling booth,” said Mr Tiwari. BJP president Amit Shah will kick start thje party’s civic poll campaign by addressing about 65,000 booth-level workers at Ramlila Maidan and will motivate them with the motto — “booth jetoo, election jeeto” (win the booth to win the election).