MCD polls: BJP woos Pasmanda Muslims, gives them 4 tickets

In a push to appease Pasmanda Muslims, BJP has given tickets to four from the community for the MCD polls.

- Abhinav Rajput

New Delhi: A senior functionary said the decision was taken to send out the message that the party wanted to empower the community and give them leadership roles. The candidates include Saba Gazi from Chauhan Banger, Shamina Raza from Quresh Nagar, Shabnam Malik from Mustafabad and Irfan Malik from Chandni Mahal.

In the 2017 polls, BJP had given tickets to six Muslims of which two were from the Pasmanda community. All of them had lost.

Pasmanda, a Persian word, means the “ones left behind” and is used to describe the oppressed classes among Muslims. It has become an umbrella identity used by backward, Dalit and tribal Muslims to push back against caste-based discrimination.