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A group of Muslim women beneficiaries from various government schemes expressed their gratitude to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by sending “Thank You Modiji” postcards to him. The postcards were sent from Kasaibada locality in the Uttar Pradesh capital, Lucknow, which is the constituency of defence minister Rajnath Singh. The women detailed how they have benefited from the BJP and PM Modi in their letters.
According to BJP MLC Mukesh Sharma, the women have benefited from several initiatives like free ration, free Covid vaccination, free cooking gas connections under the Ujjawala scheme, and free houses. These initiatives have helped the Muslim women in the same way as any other beneficiary. The postcards were sent as part of the BJP’s fortnight of service campaign, which began on September 17, Modi’s birthday, and will continue until Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary on October 2.
As part of the drive, the BJP is organizing awareness campaigns to conserve water and save trees, and its cadres have also organized blood donation camps. The campaign is being observed across the country, and if the NaMo App ratings are any indication, several regions in Uttar Pradesh have done well in service outreach activities. The BJP organized a competition among all states in the country to encourage them to engage in a healthy contest on outscoring others in organizing service and outreach programs.
According to a BJP leader, various regions in Uttar Pradesh are performing well on the NaMo App. The final results of the competition will be out after October 2. The recent exercise by the Muslim women is part of the BJP’s efforts to indicate symbolically that minorities are not anti-Muslim and that PM Modi has a following among minority women.
The BJP has been asserting that due to the series of decisions taken by the government, such as scrapping the instant divorce practice of triple talaq and ensuring that benefits of all government schemes were available to all without discrimination, women from the community have been edging closer to the BJP. The party recently won Lok Sabha by-polls in Azamgarh and Rampur, two constituencies dominated by Muslims.
Lucknow has a significant Muslim presence, especially in old city areas, and the community has traditionally not been averse to supporting BJP, especially after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee contested from Lucknow. Party leaders admit that a section of the community also backed Rajnath in both Lok Sabha polls (2014, 2019) that he won from here with Shia leader Kalbe Jawad also issuing an appeal in his favour.
In conclusion, the postcards sent by Muslim women beneficiaries of government schemes in Uttar Pradesh to express their gratitude to PM Modi indicate that the government's policies have been beneficial to them. The BJP's fortnight of service campaign and the efforts to engage with minorities symbolically through such initiatives highlight the party's efforts to reach out to all sections of society. The BJP's performance in recent by-polls in Muslim-dominated constituencies indicates that it is making inroads into the community, which has traditionally not been its stronghold.
