NEW DELHI: Iftar diplomacy, an annual ritual in Bihar, has become an important platform for political outreach this year as the state gears up for assembly elections amid the row over Centre’s proposed Waqf Amendment Bill. The politics over the Bill has already taken centrestage in the poll-bound state with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) launching its mega all-India protest earlier this week from Patna.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar and Union minister Chirag Paswan, who are key allies of the BJP, face immense pressure from Muslim organisations to oppose the Bill. Their get-togethers this year were boycotted by some of these organisations as a mark of protest adding an interesting challenge to their iftar diplomacy.
On the last Friday of Ramzan, a large number of Muslims in Patna wore black armbands during Jummah prayers to register their protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, following an appeal by the AIMPLB.
Nitish Kumar, who is yet to make a statement on the Bill, has been consistently attending iftar parties to showcase his commitment to the community. On Friday, he attended an iftar party organised at Haj Bhawan in Patna. Despite the enthusiasm at Haj Bhawan, where attendees raised slogans of ‘2025 again CM Nitish Kumar’, the chief minister refrained from interacting with the media and left the venue shortly after meeting the community leaders.
Nitish, who faces a catch-22 situation over the issue, would hope that BJP’s “Saugat-e-Modi” campaign, launched to reach out to the Muslims, counters some of this anger and creates a division within the community.
The “Saugat-e-Modi” campaign, launched by the BJP Minority Morcha aims to distribute special kits to 32 lakh underprivileged Muslims across the country ahead of Eid so that they can celebrate the festival without any hardship.
The kits distributed under the “Saugat-e-Modi” campaign will contain a variety of items. Along with food items, the kits will include clothes, vermicelli, dates, dry fruits, and sugar. Women’s kits will contain fabric for suits, while men’s kits will include kurta-pyjamas.
On the other hand, Nitish Kumar’s arch rival Lalu Prasad and other opposition parties in the state are going all out to make the most of this anger within the Muslims. An ailing Lalu joined the AIMPLB protest in Patna along with his son Tejashwi, who is leading the charge against the ruling NDA in Bihar. Addressing the protesters, Tejashwi assured them that his party and its leader, Lalu Yadav, firmly stand with them in their fight against the “unconstitutional” Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
The RJD also took a dig at the BJP by putting up posters condemning the saffron party’s ‘Saugat-e-Modi’ kits to Muslims while trying to pass the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
The posters criticised the BJP-led NDA government over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and read: “Aankh chheen kar chasma daine vale log, rakh lo apne pass yeh Saugat-e-Modi’ kit” (Those who take away eyesight and offer glasses, keep this gift to yourselves).
They featured a caricature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with four hands, each holding labels such as Waqf Bill, NRC and Masjid, among other things.
Images of other NDA leaders, including Union minister Chirag Paswan and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, with Waqf Board and NRC written on their hands, respectively, also found place in the posters.
The text on the poster read, “Take back the Waqf (Amendment) Bill if you truly want to offer a gift of love. If you wish to distribute something on Eid, spread love—not division. But we know this isn’t possible because your (NDA’s) shop of hatred will shut down.”
The RJD top brass has been actively participating and organising iftar parties to consolidate the party’s support among the community in the election year. For now, while the NDA allies, have used the Iftar parties to send across a message of unity among the partners, the state Congress leadership added a twist to opposition tale by giving the RJD iftar party a miss.
Elections in the state are still 6 to 7 months away and it will be interesting to see whoose Eid outreach translates into votes.