By downplaying Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s leadership when many in BJP have joined the chorus to project him as the obvious prime ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha election, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has obviously adopted a politically expedient and strategic posture since his immediate job is to keep the maximum number of Muslim voters on his side as the ruling BJP prepares to accomplish Mission 2013 and the challenge before him is winning the state Assembly election for the third time in a row later this year.
How important the Muslim voters are for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh gets amply reflected by BJP’s national vice-president Prabhat Jha’s efforts to woo the minorities in his capacity as state party unit chief. While announcing a special campaign to attract the minorities towards the BJP last October he had given credit to his party for nominating and getting a large number of Muslims elected to the civic bodies. This trend would continue, he had stated obviously referring to the next State Assembly elections.
Prior to that in June 2011, the BJP had gone ahead with the first major public display of the “evolving” relationship between the BJP and the Muslim minority when the chief minister had given a call to the Muslims, who had turned up in large numbers to attend a function organised by BJP’s minorities’ cell at Iqbal Maidan here, to become “equal partners” in the progress and development of the state. Accusing the Congress of following the policy of “divide and rule”, Mr Chouhan has all along conveyed the message that the welfare of the minorities is his government’s top priority.
When a cross-section of senior citizens from the minority Muslim community were contacted and asked to comment on Mr Chouhan’s description of the Gujarat chief minister as one among several party leaders who constitute the second line of BJP leadership, they were unanimous in pointing out that Mr Chouhan has no choice. Supporting Mr Modi when state Assembly elections are round the corner would have been like committing political hara-kiri, one of them pointed out.