Muslim population in Varanasi share mixed feelings about PM Narendra Modi

Varanasi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s road show passed through Madanpura and Sonarpura which have a sizeable Muslim population in Varanasi, Hafiz Jamal stepped out of a local masjid to catch a glimpse of Modi in his car. Another Muslim man in Sonarpura flung a shawl towards Modi, who gracefully wore it. “Who else but he will win - but I can’t say if I will vote for him,” Jamal told ET. Many Muslims ET spoke to in Madanpura too admitted that Modi is certain to win from Varanasi, but said that does not mean they have no apprehensions.

“If Modi is keen to join people and reach out to the minorities, why does he have to give a ticket to someone like Sadhvi Pragya who openly proclaims that she destroyed the Babri Masjid? He should understand the sentiments of Muslims, ” said Shamin Akhtar and Nasim Akhtar who run Rizwan Saree Arts in Madanpura. A bit ahead on Modi’s route, Abdul Aziz and his friends have come to witness Modi’s show. “If the PM has come, we will welcome him with all our heart despite having some fundamental differences with the BJP. The onus is on Modi to clear those doubts,” said Aziz.

An elderly Mohd Hamid Akhtar, who runs a saree weaving unit in Madanpura, is more critical. “Muslims are remembered only during polls, never in the intervening five years. Does anybody care for the dying Banarasi saree industry? There’s a lot of buzz over Modi, but I will not tell whom I will vote for,” he said.


Some Muslims in Madanpura seem game enough to give Modi another chance as an MP, and sounded disappointed that Muslims have been left with no choice as Priyanka Gandhi did not contest from Varanasi and the alliance candidate is weak. A group of Muslims welcomed Modi in Madanpura during his road show. “There is no choice now. Still when the time comes, we will decide. My entire family’s name is missing from the voters’ list, even though I have applied for it. If anyone cares to correct, I will vote,” said Mohiuddin, who runs a clinic in Madanpura.

Rizvan Ahmed in Sonarpura best summed up the situation. “Work has happened in Varanasi and elsewhere in UP – that’s a fact. It is also true that no one can defeat Modi in Varanasi. Unke ilawa hai kaun (Who else is there)? But when other BJP leaders talk about Ali versus Bajranbali, Muslims like us wonder where this is all headed?” Ahmed said. This seems to sum up the Muslim mind in Varanasi.