Neither on the passage of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) nor on the enactment of Triple Talaq law, consecration of Ram Mandir and de-operationalisation of Article 370 did the ‘secular’ constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) face such a strong protest from their Muslim leaders and workers as in the case of recently enacted Waqf (Amendment) Act.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena Party (JSP), Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), etc. backed the government on the Waqf (Amendment) Act. Most of these parties have since 2014 supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in parliament on a number of issues related to Muslim community.

However, this is the first time that Muslim leaders of JD(U), TDP and RLD have openly raised voice against the leadership of their respective parties. Murmurs are growing louder within HAM, LJP, Jana Sena and Janata Dal (Secular) as well. 

Litmus test

The litmus test for the BJP’s alliance partners in Bihar will come in the assembly poll scheduled in October 2025. The JD(U) is, in particular, alarmed over the developments taking place in the state as about half a dozen of its office-bearers belonging to the Muslim community have quit the party and several others are on the way out. 

All out efforts to divide Muslims on caste line have backfired as most of the leaders, at least of JD(U), who have resigned are from ‘Pasmanda’ (weaker) section of the society. 

The JD(U) is struggling to keep the Muslims within the party in good humour. It used two Iftaar parties in Patna – one thrown by chief minister Nitish Kumar himself and other by the organisation – to win over the community. But they evoked lukewarm response as several Muslim organisations gave a boycott call. HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi and LJP president Chirag Paswan, both Union ministers, tried to use Iftaar diplomacy for this very purpose but failed in their efforts. 

Embarrassment to Nitish

Much to the embarrassment of Nitish himself, Shamimuddin Ahmad Munemi of Khanqah-e-Munemia of Patna City, who decided to attend Nitish’s Iftaar party on March 23, used the occasion to express his reservation over the Waqf Bill. 

Ali Anwar Ansari, till 2017 the most prominent backward caste Muslim face of the JD(U), joined the Congress on January 28 last when the debate over Waqf was at its height. Ansari, a two term Rajya Sabha MP, was thrown out of the party a few years back. He was the founder of Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz, and his exit led to the erosion of support of weaker sections of Muslims from JD(U). 

Several JD(U) Muslim leaders who were directed to be present in the press conference held in the party office on April 5 refused to answer the straight forward questions from the mediapersons and left the venue in a huff. This further created confusion in the rank and file of the party. They were party MLCs, Ghulam Ghous and Afaque Ahmad Khan, Shia Waqf Board chief, Afzal Abbas, former Rajya Sabha MP Ashfaque Karim, state chief of minority cell of JD(U) Ashraf Ansari. One of the spokespersons Anjum Ara and Ashraf Ansari read a written statement supporting the Act.

While Ghulam Ghous last week went to the extent of meeting RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav another former Rajya Sabha MP and national general secretary of the JD(U) Gulam Rasool Balyawi has openly opposed the Waqf law and has threatened to challenge it in the Supreme Court. He publicly criticised Nitish and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N. Chandrababu Naidu for letting down Muslims.

A small consolation for JD(U) comes from former Rajya Sabha MP, Dr Ejaz Ali of the erstwhile Backward Muslim Morcha, who is supporting the NDA on the Waqf issue. But Dr Ali has lost much of his political clout in the last few years and his stand is being widely criticised in the social media. 

Waiting for appropriate moment 

The truth is that several Muslim leaders of JD(U) were waiting for an opportune moment to jump off the Nitish bandwagon following the weakening of the grip of Bihar chief minister on the state machinery and on the party, which is facing existential crisis following the deterioration of his mental health condition. This is a significant reason behind the desertion of so many leaders from the party who otherwise stood strongly behind Nitish who backed BJP on the CAA-cum-NRC and other issues related to Muslims. It needs to be reminded that Nitish took a U-turn and re-joined hands with the BJP on January 23, 2024 that is just a day after the grand show in Ayodhya yet no Muslim leaders of the party dared to attack him.

Why to speak of Muslims, leaders hailing from other castes and communities may, on one pretext or the other, also start leaving the party as the election dates approach.

Ram Mandir versus Waqf Act

Unlike Andhra Pradesh, where the assembly election is due four years from now, Bihar politics has suddenly taken a different course. If the consecration of Ram Mandir on January 22, 2024 failed to yield any positive result for the BJP, especially in the all important state of Uttar Pradesh, the Waqf (Amendment) Act may boomerang on the saffron party. No doubt, hard-core BJP supporters are enthusiastic that Waqf law would help the party consolidate its position in the upcoming assembly polls in the states, yet the fact remains that if the inauguration of Ram Mandir did not click in 2024 one can not expect that this latest move may work as a wonder. 

The big question is: Will the enactment of Waqf (Amendment) Act add new voters for the BJP in Bihar or West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry which go to poll next summer? Herein lies the crux of matter. 

Barring committed BJP supporters, average Hindu voters are not showing so much interest in the complicated Waqf debate. They have their own quota of problems related to their livelihood.

Unlike in other Hindi heartland states, in Bihar the situation is much more challenging as the BJP can at most contest only 121 seats out of 243 in the House. In 2020 too it left 122 seats for the JD(U) and other smaller parties. These ‘secular’ NDA partners were till lately in the position to secure some Muslim votes – or had the capacity to disturb them from going to RJD-led grand alliance. 

But in the new emerging situation the JD(U), LJP and HAM are not sure of getting even a small fraction of Muslim votes. Muslims form 17.7% of Bihar’s population and are a deciding factor in any poll outcome. Thus, politically the BJP has queered the pitch for its own ‘secular’ partners. In return one doubts whether the Waqf (Amendment) Act would really bring in new Hindu voters to the BJP?

Soroor Ahmed is a Patna-based freelance journalist.

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