As Nitish warms up to Muslims, BJP gets jittery

Patna: Bihar chief minister and JD(U) Nitish Kumar’s fresh Muslim outreach following the communal violence in the state last month has left his coalition partner BJP guessing about his next political move.

Looking to woo Muslims before the 2019 elections and repair the damage done by the communal flareup last month, the ruling JD(U) recently dropped party spokesperson Sanjay Singh and gave an MLC ticket to Khalid Anwar, who is said to have the backing of several senior Muslim clerics of Emarat-e-Shariah, an apex body of the minority community.

 “The party had to choose only three MLC candidates. We felt that Khalid Anwar is a better candidate and decided to give him a ticket. His selection was an internal matter of the party,” JD(U) state president Basisth Narayan Singh said.

Mr Anwar was among the prominent organisers of a Muslim rally, “Deen Bachao, Desh Bachao”, on April 15 in Patna under the aegis of Emarat-e-Shariah, the highest religious body of the community which has influence in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.

Observers say that the JD(U) chose a Muslim MLC to keep clerics in good humour, particularly after a series of recent communal clashes in Bihar and the chief minister’s return to BJP-led NDA last year.

Mr Kumar’s move to declare Mr Anwar as the party’s MLC candidate is also being seen as an attempt by him to appease minorities ahead of 2019 general elections.

The selection of a Muslim cleric as JD(U) MLC came close to the rally on April 15, despite claims by the general secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board and chief of Emarat-e-Shariah Maulana Wali Rahmani that it was a non-political event.

The JD(U)’s move may impact party’s relations with the BJP. Sources claim that the saffron party was not happy with the way clerics criticised the BJP-led Central government during the rally in Patna.

Discontent within the NDA was also seen after several clerics publicly thanked Bihar chief minister for making the rally successful.

Earlier, ties between the JD(U) and the BJP were strained in the state following clashes that broke out between members of two communities on 17 March in Bhagalpur and spread to other districts. The chief minister was vocal about the attempts to disturb peace and, without naming BJP leaders, warned that he would not compromise on communal issues. BJP’s Union minister Ashwini Choubey’s son Arijit Shashwat was arrested on March 31 for inciting violence in Bhagalpur.