Interview | Denied Ticket, BJP's Muslim Leader in Rajasthan Quits Party to Contest as an Independent

New Delhi: The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has not fielded even a single Muslim in any of the 200 Assembly constituencies in Rajasthan, where elections will be held on November 25. In the 2018 elections, however, the party had fielded Yunus Khan of the Muslim community from the Tonk seat, which he lost to Congress's Sachin Pilot.

Khan had been MLA twice from Didwana before he contested and lost from Tonk in 2018. His hopes of obtaining a BJP ticket this time around from either Didwana or Tonk have been dashed, prompting him to quit the party and contest as an Independent candidate from the Didwana segment. He has been a close confidant of Vasundhara Raje, in whose government he served as transport minister before.

The Wire spoke exclusively to Khan, and below are the excerpts from the interview.

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Why do you think the BJP has decided not to field you from either Didwana or Tonk? 

It is the decision of the party's senior leadership not to give me a ticket. The party has done injustice to the people of Didwana by not giving me a ticket, as the people there wanted me to contest this election. This is the second time that the party has decided to ignore the wishes of the people of Didwana. Therefore, I have decided to contest from the constituency as an Independent candidate.

Despite being known as a confidant of Vasundhara Raje, the party has denied you a ticket. In fact, several other leaders like Rajpal Singh Shekhawat from Jhotwara and Bhawani Singh Rajawat in Ladpura have been denied tickets.  

Not only we three were denied tickets by the party, but many others who have been loyal to Raje didn't get a ticket this time; Ashok Parnami is another example. Counting us in someone's group is not the right thing, as we have been party workers for decades. We joined the BJP because we believed that the BJP was a party for change, and they also wanted to bring change. They gave tickets to candidates who joined the BJP in 2018 and ignored loyalists.

Have you not tried reaching out to Raje or any other leader in the BJP after you realised that you have not been given a ticket? 

No one from the BJP has ever contacted me after the party's loss in 2018, except former chief minister Vasundhara Raje. I have never demanded a ticket or anything from the party in the last 25 years. The party should have given tickets to winnable candidates.

In 2018 too, we were not given the ticket from the seat of your choice (Didwana) and was shifted to Tonk. You were the only member of the Muslim community to have received a ticket back then among BJP's candidates. Do you think your being a Muslim is the reason behind the BJP denying you a ticket?   

No, I don't think you should say that, as I have never done politics on religion. I have worked for the party for the last 25 years. It is for the media to analyse why the party has denied me a ticket this time around.

Have you not raised your concerns with Raje before deciding to quit the party and contest as an Independent candidate?  

I have to listen to the people of Didwana, because at the end of the day, we are working for them, and the people want me to contest the elections, so I am contesting.

Do you think if the BJP comes to power, they will make Vasundhara Raje the chief minister? 

I don't want to comment on it, as I left the party.

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