Nafis Ansari, a school principal who is Muslim, was enlisted this year by the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a “Modi Mitr”, or friend of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The resident of the central state of Madhya Pradesh promotes the party to neighbours and relatives at events such as weddings and tea sessions at friends’ homes. He discusses how the BJP’s welfare policies benefit all communities and discusses India’s status as a rising global power under Modi.
Ansari is one of more than 25,000 Muslims volunteering to help Modi win a third term in elections due by May, BJP officials told Reuters. The party looks for community leaders like educators, entrepreneurs, clerics and retired government employees willing to “objectively” assess Modi, said Jamal Siddiqui, head of the BJP’s minorities unit.
Reuters interviewed five Modi Mitrs and six BJP officials responsible for election strategy. They said the party hopes to use its economic record and its plans to introduce religion-agnostic laws on inheritance and gender rights to win over underprivileged Muslim voters, including women, in 65 key seats.
Specifics of the BJP’s Muslim outreach strategy, such as its messaging to target voters in these seats, have not been previously reported.
The campaign is part of a more significant push to woo India’s 200 million Muslims, with whom the BJP and Modi have a long and fraught history.
