BJP’s Muslim outreach | Mixed signals
Senior BJP and RSS leaders signal an interest in dialogue with Muslims in the wake of the crackdown on the PFI. But the politics of polarisation endures
Union home minister Amit Shah at a rally in J&K’s Baramulla; (Photo: ANI)
Tf there is one thing the BJP poll machinery never takes for granted, it’s the support of any vote bank. It constantly works on either retaining existing support, or breaking fresh ground among communities. Which is why even as it bans the radical Muslim organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) and is coming down hard on ‘illegal’ madrassas, the party, and the parent organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), are simultaneously reaching out to what they consider the moderate sections of the Muslim community.
