Underlining the BJP's motto of "sabka saath, sabka vikas", Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested at the party's national executive meeting here on Sunday that party workers should reach out to deprived and downtrodden sections among the minorities too.
He made the suggestion in his intervention during reporting on activities by the party unit in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP recently won Lok Sabha by-polls in Rampur and Azamgarh, the two bastions of the Samajwadi Party having substantial Muslim populations.
There have been several experiments in Indian politics with social equations among Hindus and attempts should be made to reach out to socially backward minorities such as Pasmanda Muslims, sources quoted Modi as having told the meeting.
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Leaders of Pasmanda Muslims have often lamented that despite being the numerical majority, a tiny elite section of the minority community remained in the leadership position and cornered most political benefits.
Modi emphasized that BJP workers should reach out to not only weaker sections among Hindus but to minorities as well and help them reap the benefits of various schemes of his government meant for the welfare of all sections of society.
At a meeting of BJP office-bearers last year, Modi had made a similar suggestion. He had then said the party should try to reach out to Christians in Kerala to further strengthen its base there.
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Party insiders say that the BJP is working on expanding its base and therefore efforts are being made to reach out to backward communities among the minorities.
