Ahmedabad, February 01: Even as a Muslim cleric snubbed by Narendra Modi has vowed to follow and counter the Chief Minister on his campaign trail in UP, a team of state BJP minority cell is headed for poll-bound UP in a bid to garner Muslim votes for the party by showcasing development in Gujarat and the “social security” Muslims enjoy in the state.
The month-long, seven-phase polls in UP start in the first week of February and all parties in the fray are aggressively courting Muslims.
Tanveer Ahmed, the president of BJP’s All India Minority Cell, had asked its vice-president Gani Qureshi, who also heads BJP’s minority cell in Gujarat, to form a team to campaign in UP.
Qureshi says his team is ready. “They will hold public meetings in Muslim-dominated areas in UP and try to convince voters to back BJP. The first team comprising 10 members will leave for UP this week. Our teams will co-ordinate with the BJP wing in UP. We will also showcase investments worth thousands of crores of rupees that have flown into Gujarat.”
——-Agencies