Author: Praveen Rai & Priyavadan M Patel
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: December 3, 2007
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/246088.html
Introduction: About 13 per cent of the Muslims
in Gujarat intend to vote for the BJP. Support for the party is higher among
the educated, women and youth.
Muslims in Gujarat, especially after the post-Godhra
violence, find themselves in a difficult spot. They have to make a choice
between going with the BJP or with staying out in political wilderness.
Muslims in the state constitute 9 per cent
of the state's population and are located in pockets of sizable concentration.
Will Muslims in Gujarat vote for the BJP in the coming elections or will there
be a complete polarisation of votes on religious lines?
The findings of the Indian Express-CNN-IBN-Divya
Bhaskar-CSDS survey indicate that about 13 per cent of the Muslims in the
state intend to vote for BJP as compared with 74 per cent who say they'll
vote for the Congress.
So, who among the Muslims are those willing
to support the BJP in this deeply divided state?
The support base of the BJP among Muslims
is nearly the same in both rural and urban areas. However there is a significant
gender divide: more Muslim women (14 per cent) compared to men (10 per cent)
showed their inclination to vote for the saffron party.
Support for the BJP was also higher among
the younger lot. Muslims in the age group of 56 and above are least supportive
of the party ideology and policies and only 5 per cent among them intend to
vote for the BJP. The lack of support among older Muslims could be directly
attributed to their loss in the post-Godhra riots of 2002. Since older Muslims
were affected the most, their support for the BJP dwindled more and was reported
the lowest among all age groups.
Are educated Muslims more likely to support
the BJP? The data shows that the highest support for the Modi government comes
from educated Muslims. College-educated Muslim support for the party is more
by 16 percentage points as compared with illiterate Muslims. Similarly there
is a clear class divide in the Muslim support for the party. Richer Muslims
intend to vote in more numbers for the BJP as compared with poorer Muslims.
About 19 per cent among the rich Muslims said they would vote for the BJP
as compared with only 5 per cent from the poorer section of the community.
Narendra Modi's style of functioning and governance
in Gujarat finds more supporters among the young and educated Muslims than
among older and uneducated Muslims.