10-20-2005, 06:29 PM
Pioneer.com
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Muslims opt for B-S-P issues, vote BJP </b>
RK Misra / Gandhinagar
AHMEDABAD CIVIC POLL------ Did the Muslim voter thaw towards the BJP in the just concluded Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation elections which the party swept with a long hop?<b>An analysis of the results show that in the segments of the Ahmedabad civic body which form a part of former deputy prime minister LK Advani's Lok Sabha constituency, the BJP bagged 48 of the total 57 seats and many of areas covered herein have a sizeable minority population. </b>
In Ellisbridge, Dariapur, Asarwa and Sarkhej wards it won all the 12, 9, 6, and 9 seats respectively making a clean sweep while in Sabarmati it won 12 of the 15 seats but could manage only one of the six seats in Shahpur ward.
<b>In sheer percentage terms, the BJP bagged 84 per cent of the seats it contested in Mr Advani's Lok Sabha constituency segment falling under the Ahmedabad municipal corporation.</b>
Sarafaraz Mansuri, a reporter working for an Ahmedabad-based Gujarati eveninger who lives in a predominantly Muslim locality is convinced that there has been a noticeable shift in the way his community is looking at the BJP.
<b>"It is particularly visible among the young and the educated of the new generation of Muslims. They feel that no political entity should be able to take any community for granted. We are nobody's pocket borough and would be better off voting on issues, intent and on the basis of concrete work on the ground, is the new line of thinking,"</b> he points out.
The defeat of Badruddin Sheikh, a senior Congress leader contesting from Dani Limbda which has a fair Muslim population who has been fighting the poll since 1995 and has lost for the first time is an indicator in this direction. This minority-dominated seat was considered a bastion of the Congress where it just could not be defeated. The contention stands shattered.
Though the argument has been advanced that this was because his business rivals had propped up an NCP candidate, the fact remains that some degree of minority votes did switch sides causing the debacle for the Congress candidate.
Besides Dani Limbda, other Muslim-dominated areas like Kalupur, Dudeshwar and Jamalpur have also noticed some shift in preferences.<b> 50-year-old Fazalbhai Mansuri , a bank employee residing in Jamalpur is of the opinion that most of the apprehensions in the minds of the community that grew out of the 2002 communal riots have not come true and therefore there is no harm in giving the BJP a chance. The Congress has for long taken the minorities for granted and therefore one ventured out,"</b> he says.
<b>Shahnawaz Sheikh, a student of M.Com confirms that the new generation is looking at development and opportunities and if it is the BJP under Modi which provides it, he would vote for it again. "There is a distinct impression that the present Chief Minister is providing a dynamic leadership and everybody will benefit for it so why confine oneself to an age old stereotype chained to fears,"</b> he observes.
<b>Young Shoib Chobdar, staying in Astodia who is learning shorthand has also opted to try out the BJP this once to see things for himself. "No purpose is served by slinking in a corner. One must venture out into the sun and see things for oneself. I have done just that,"</b> he points out.
Whether it is an isolated example borne out of frustration with the Congress or the first slow step towards a new beginning only time and the ensuing election will tell
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Muslims opt for B-S-P issues, vote BJP </b>
RK Misra / Gandhinagar
AHMEDABAD CIVIC POLL------ Did the Muslim voter thaw towards the BJP in the just concluded Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation elections which the party swept with a long hop?<b>An analysis of the results show that in the segments of the Ahmedabad civic body which form a part of former deputy prime minister LK Advani's Lok Sabha constituency, the BJP bagged 48 of the total 57 seats and many of areas covered herein have a sizeable minority population. </b>
In Ellisbridge, Dariapur, Asarwa and Sarkhej wards it won all the 12, 9, 6, and 9 seats respectively making a clean sweep while in Sabarmati it won 12 of the 15 seats but could manage only one of the six seats in Shahpur ward.
<b>In sheer percentage terms, the BJP bagged 84 per cent of the seats it contested in Mr Advani's Lok Sabha constituency segment falling under the Ahmedabad municipal corporation.</b>
Sarafaraz Mansuri, a reporter working for an Ahmedabad-based Gujarati eveninger who lives in a predominantly Muslim locality is convinced that there has been a noticeable shift in the way his community is looking at the BJP.
<b>"It is particularly visible among the young and the educated of the new generation of Muslims. They feel that no political entity should be able to take any community for granted. We are nobody's pocket borough and would be better off voting on issues, intent and on the basis of concrete work on the ground, is the new line of thinking,"</b> he points out.
The defeat of Badruddin Sheikh, a senior Congress leader contesting from Dani Limbda which has a fair Muslim population who has been fighting the poll since 1995 and has lost for the first time is an indicator in this direction. This minority-dominated seat was considered a bastion of the Congress where it just could not be defeated. The contention stands shattered.
Though the argument has been advanced that this was because his business rivals had propped up an NCP candidate, the fact remains that some degree of minority votes did switch sides causing the debacle for the Congress candidate.
Besides Dani Limbda, other Muslim-dominated areas like Kalupur, Dudeshwar and Jamalpur have also noticed some shift in preferences.<b> 50-year-old Fazalbhai Mansuri , a bank employee residing in Jamalpur is of the opinion that most of the apprehensions in the minds of the community that grew out of the 2002 communal riots have not come true and therefore there is no harm in giving the BJP a chance. The Congress has for long taken the minorities for granted and therefore one ventured out,"</b> he says.
<b>Shahnawaz Sheikh, a student of M.Com confirms that the new generation is looking at development and opportunities and if it is the BJP under Modi which provides it, he would vote for it again. "There is a distinct impression that the present Chief Minister is providing a dynamic leadership and everybody will benefit for it so why confine oneself to an age old stereotype chained to fears,"</b> he observes.
<b>Young Shoib Chobdar, staying in Astodia who is learning shorthand has also opted to try out the BJP this once to see things for himself. "No purpose is served by slinking in a corner. One must venture out into the sun and see things for oneself. I have done just that,"</b> he points out.
Whether it is an isolated example borne out of frustration with the Congress or the first slow step towards a new beginning only time and the ensuing election will tell
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->