BJP contemplating to field more Muslim candidates in Bengal
Kolkata, Oct 30: The BJP in Bengal is contemplating to field "considerable" number of Muslim candidates in the Lok Sabha elections next year with an intent to make inroads into Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's solid support base among minorities, and corner a sizeable share of this numerically crucial vote bank.
The saffron party's aim to make a shift in its political strategy in West Bengal appears to be a result of their harvesting a good number of seats in the local body election early this year by fielding Muslim candidates.
The BJP had fielded more than 850 candidates from the minority community in the poll to the three-tier panchayats, with nearly half of them winning the elections.
In the last Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had fielded only two minority candidates in the state, which has a total of 42 seats.
However, since the last Lok Sabha polls in the state, Bengal politics has witnessed a paradigm shift with the BJP emerging as the main challenger of the TMC by outsmarting the CPI(M) and the Congress.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh told PTI, the party will aim to field "considerable" number of Muslim candidates, given the fact that the state has nearly 30 per cent Muslim population.
"Although in our party, tickets are not distributed on the basis of religion, but we are receiving several applications from people of the minority community, expressing their desire to contest elections on our party ticket," Ghosh said.
There is still time left to decide on the issue of candidates and tickets will be distributed on the basis of eligibility, winnability and capability of an individual, he said.
Ghosh's views were echoed by party's Bengal Minority Morcha chief Ali Hossain, who felt Muslims are a deciding factor in the Bengal elections and the party cannot afford to ignore them.
The ruling TMC, however, discounted BJP's minority outreach plan and asserted that they continue to have faith in party chief Mamata Banerjee.
"The minorities have full faith in us. The BJP's strategy is nothing but a farce and the minorities are very well aware of their intentions," senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee said.
The Congress and the CPI(M) also pooh-poohed the BJP's Muslim outreach plan saying it was nothing but "shedding crocodile tears" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Ghosh claimed his party has expanded its base in Bengal by leaps and bounds and Muslims too are not out of its reach.
"We are running the government at the Centre and in more than 20 states, Muslims are living in peace and there are no problems. We believe in development for all," he said.
According to state BJP sources, who did not wish to be named, in order to make party president Amit Shah's target of 22 Lok Sabha seats from Bengal a reality, it is a "necessity" for the party to reach out to the minorities as the community plays a deciding factor in at least 10-12 Lok Sabha seats of the state.
Buoyed by its performance in the last Panchayat polls, the West Bengal BJP has prepared its Lok Sabha blueprint, targeting 26-28 parliamentary seats in the state.
The party presently has two Lok Sabha seats -- Asansol and Darjeeling -- in the state.
The BJP's Bengal minority wing chief Ali Hossain said the ultimate decision on the candidates' selection would be of the party.
"We won't pressurise the party by saying that it has to field so many Muslim candidates. Everything will depend on various factors including whether he or she is able to win the seat or not," Hossain told PTI.
The BJP minority morcha, West Bengal unit had last week organised a two-day conference to discuss various issues pertaining to the Muslim community.
A number of morcha leaders decided to propagate issues ranging from triple talaq to the Assam NRC to counter the "false propaganda" against the party.
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Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
