Between exclusion and appeasement: The crisis of Muslim vote bank politics in West Bengal

Suvendu Adhikari's call for BJP to stop using 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' slogan sparks debate on Muslim politics in West Bengal.

The statement by the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should stop using the slogan of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas‘ and do away with the party’s Minority Morcha in the State as Muslims had not voted for the party in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election has triggered a fresh debate on ‘Muslim politics’ in West Bengal.

The remark from a key politician of the State, who has decades of experience, not only drew criticism from the Opposition but also embarrassed the State BJP leadership, which was quick to say that the party believes in the slogan of ’Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas‘ even if Muslims did not vote for the party.

Mr. Adhikari went on to say that he would no longer use the term “nationalist Muslims”, adding that the party was with those who “are with us”.

The remark might reflect the BJP leader’s disappointment over the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha election, but it also indicates a deep malaise in West Bengal politics in which Muslims have been treated only as a vote bank.

The BJP’s approach to politics in the State has centred around the exclusion of Muslims and polarisation of Hindus. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 and the subsequent Rules published earlier this year before the Lok Sabha election, as well as claims that the CAA would be followed by a National Register of Citizens (NRC) as seen in Assam, created panic among Muslims.

The BJP has failed to engage with Muslims in West Bengal, neither giving members of the community tickets nor inducting Muslim leaders in key party positions. Even during the Lok Sabha election, BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raised issues of illegal infiltration, targeting the community, and said the entire country was concerned that the demography of the border areas of West Bengal was changing.

Mr. Adhikari’s claims that the community has not supported the party fall flat because the BJP has not done any political ground work to woo this minority.