The Silent Tide

According to the Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), BJP won 45 of 87 Lok Sabha seats identified as having high Muslim voters across India. In West Bengal also, its share of the Muslim vote went from 6.14 per cent in 2009 to 17.5% in 2014. All this has, of course, made headlines. But the silent tide of Muslims towards BJP is the untold story of a populace which makes up 25.2% of the population of West Bengal. In villages across the state, “Yogdaan” camps have Muslims signing up with the BJP in their hordes.  

Narendra Modi’s campaign speech is still reverberating well past the election meetings. The comparison with Gujarat is stark. The average per capita income of Muslims in rural Gujarat is over Rs. 700 while in Bengal is it below Rs. 500. The per capita income of urban Muslims is above Rs. 900 while in Bengal it is less than Rs. 700. The average Muslim bank deposit in Gujarat is Rs. 35,000 while in Bengal it is Rs. 11,000.

Moreover, over 60% of the Muslim population in Gujarat receive primary education, while in Bengal it is less than 50%. Though Muslims form only 8-9 per cent of the population in Gujarat, Muslims represent 8.5% of  Government employees. While Bengal has a substantially higher Muslim population, they represent only 1.2 per cent of Government employees.

The promised failures of the Left and TMC are coming home to a lost generation. They are finally waking up to the reality of development versus religion, of opportunities versus appeasement.

No wonder, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is all out of stop this silent march. From Iftar parties to praying at mosques to stroking unnamed fears, she is all guns blazing. She warned her party members to be on the look out for the BJP to spread communalism in Bengal!  But the populace is all too wary of these gimmicks and aligning themselves with the “strong” party and hope of a better future.