Prime Minister Modi became the first prime minister to pay a visit to the head of Dawoodi Bohra community even as he attended and addressed their nine-day religious congregation at Indore’s Saifee mosque. He was also joined by Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. This clearly shows how the Dawoodi Bohra community is sharing a close rapport with Prime Minister Modi. This was for the second time that Modi attended any religious event organised by any sect of the Muslim community ever since he assumed office. Earlier he had attended World Islamic Sufi Conference at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Dawoodi Bohras community is a sect within Shia Islam known for its trading and business acumen. It however must not be confused with the Sunni Bohras who also form a Bohra Muslim community with several similar cultural traits. The Bohra community with a population of around 5,00,000 in India, has been seen as extremely close to prime minister Modi. They have been prominently photographed with the prime minister on several occasions in the past few years. It seems that now Prime Minister Modi and the BJP is reciprocating to the vocal support given by the Dawoodi Bohra community. Dawoodi Bohras who are a predominantly business community seem highly impressed with Prime Minister Modi’s policies and leadership. They firmly believe that both small and large scale businesses will stand to gain from Prime Minister Modi’s initiatives. The current Sydena of the sect Mufaddal Saifuddin is believed to have close ties with the PM and has even been asking his community members to support the Modi led government in its initiatives.
This is a golden opportunity for the BJP and Prime Minister Modi. And it seems that they do understand the positive effect which support from Dawoodi Bohras creates at a political level. Prime Minister Modi, therefore, further strengthened and consolidated his cordial relationship with the Muslim sect and stated that, “I am fortunate to have received affection of the Bohra community. The community assisted me during my tenure as Gujarat’s chief minister. It is a sheer affection of Bohra’s that has brought me here today. There is hardly any village in Gujarat where a Bohra trader cannot be found.” Dawoodi Bohras are extremely crucial at this stage because they have the potential of changing political equations.
Such vociferous support from the Bohras is bound to create a split in the grand alliance vote bank. The anti-Modi alliance depends to a large extent on Muslim support and fear mongering within Muslims in an attempt to create an illusion that Prime Minister Modi is their arch enemy. However, the way Dawoodi Bohra community has come out in his support, it seems that the hopes of the grand alliance are going to be dashed. The way Bohras have supported Prime Minister Modi is also expected to open up the Shia voter base for the BJP. The Rashtriya Shia Samaj has already decided to support Modi as BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Shias’ RSS head Bukkal Nawab also said that no other political party has cared as much for Shia Muslims as the BJP. Now, with Dawoodi Bohras openly backing Prime Minister Modi, Shia support is only going to accentuate for the BJP. While Sunni Muslims have not shown much indications of support for the Prime Minister, Shia Muslims have always had a soft corner for the BJP and this factor could solely ruin the electoral plans of Modi’s opponents.
The visit paid by the Prime Minister to the head of Dawoodi Bohra community creates an all-inclusive image of the present prime minister. This is greatly in contrast to the fundamentalist and anti-Islamic image which has been painted by his political opponents and news traders alike. Thus, this visit by the Prime Minister is going to have far-reaching implications and has turned the tables on the opposition even as only a few months are left before the nation goes into Lok Sabha elections next year.