After 2 Polls Without Muslims, Why Has BJP Fielded 8 Candidates In Jaipur Civic Elections?

After keeping Muslim candidates out of its line-up for the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has taken a different approach in the upcoming Jaipur municipal corporation elections. The party has fielded eight Muslim candidates across the city’s 150 wards, including Shabab Jahan, who was its lone Muslim candidate in the 2020 Jaipur civic polls.

The decision marks a shift in the BJP’s recent electoral approach. In Jaipur’s civic polls, the party has cited ward-level electorate composition, while its candidates have highlighted local issues and government welfare schemes in seeking Muslim votes. The BJP says the composition of individual electorates was considered while selecting candidates, while its nominees are banking on local development and government welfare schemes to attract Muslim voters.

“The composition of the electorate was considered before finalising the candidates. We will do well as Muslims will vote for development. The BJP is confident of its efforts,” BJP spokesperson Ramlal Sharma told The Indian Express.

The eight Muslim candidates are Afsana from Ward 146, Mizan Mirza from Ward 136, Rahees Mansuri from Ward 137, Majid Pathan from Ward 128, Fariuddin from Ward 113, Zakir Khan from Ward 109, Shehnawaz Ansari from Ward 19 and Jahan from Ward 117.

Jahan had contested the 2020 civic polls but lost. She has now been renominated from Ward 117, while the other seven Muslim candidates have been fielded in different wards.

Polling for the 150 wards will take place on September 9 and 11. The results will be declared on September 14, and the Mayor will be elected a week later.

Why has BJP changed its approach in Jaipur?

The BJP has traditionally struggled to attract support from the Muslim community. Yet, its candidates in Jaipur have focused their campaigns on local issues and government welfare schemes.

Jahan said her campaign would focus on civic infrastructure and expressed confidence that Muslim voters would support the BJP.

“I have been associated with the BJP for 15 years and worked extensively in the area. I was fielded last time as well. Muslims have no problems with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our main election issue will be the civic infrastructure of my ward,” said Jahan, who is the wife of Abdul Aiz, district president of the BJP’s Minority Morcha in Hathi Gaon.

Pathan also pointed to welfare schemes as a reason Muslim voters could back the BJP, while stressing that the campaign would focus on local concerns.

“Why wouldn’t Muslims vote for a party that has given them schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Ujjwala Yojana? These schemes have benefited people on the ground, including Muslims. We will contest the election on local issues, and I am hopeful of a victory.”

The BJP has linked the decision to the composition of the electorate in individual wards, rather than presenting it as a wider change in its approach to Muslim candidates. The party’s candidates, meanwhile, are focusing on local issues and government welfare schemes while seeking support from Muslim voters.

The Congress, however, sees another calculation behind the move: an attempt by the BJP to alter its image among Muslim voters.

“The BJP, which is usually seen as anti-Muslim, is trying to soften its image,” a senior Congress leader told The Indian Express on the condition of anonymity.

The move is a departure from the BJP’s recent record. No Muslim candidate was fielded by the party in either the 2023 Assembly elections or the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, while its Jaipur civic contest in 2020 featured only one Muslim candidate.

What else is different about this year's Jaipur polls?

The candidate-selection process has also departed from the usual practice. Neither the BJP nor Congress released a formal list of candidates until Monday, the last day for filing nominations. Selected candidates were instead informed over the phone and asked to reach nomination centres, it is learnt.

The BJP released 146 names for Jaipur on Monday, while Congress had not released its list by the end of the day. The BJP also announced candidates for municipal elections in other Rajasthan cities, including Jodhpur, Udaipur, Kota and Ajmer.

Party leaders said the approach was intended to contain internal disputes and prevent disappointed ticket aspirants from contesting as Independents.

Among the BJP's 146 Jaipur candidates are 52 women. The party has also nominated former Jaipur mayor Jyoti Khandelwal from Ward 110 after she switched from Congress.

In Ward 112, outgoing Jaipur Mayor Kusum Yadav has been replaced by BJP state vice-president Sunil Kothari. He is seen as a contender for the Mayor's post if the BJP retains control of the corporation.

There was also a dispute over the BJP's candidate for Ward 76. The party initially announced former deputy mayor Puneet Karnavat, but Malviya Nagar MLA Kalicharan Saraf later handed the party symbol to Kuldeep Mishra, who filed his nomination.

“The name of Karnavat was initially finalised, but later the candidate was changed. Both candidates have filed their nomination, but since the high command has given the symbol to Mishra, Karnavat will withdraw,” Saraf told The Indian Express.

The BJP is therefore seeking Muslim support through candidates fielded according to ward-level electorate composition, along with a campaign focused on local issues and welfare schemes. The eight nominations also come amid criticism from Congress that the party is trying to change its image within the community.