As UCC rollout coincides with Uttarakhand civic polls, BJP Muslim candidates keep focus on vikas

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that the UCC will be implemented in January, with BJP sources putting a date of January 25, which is two days after the polls for 11 municipal corporations, 43 municipal councils and 46 nagar panchayats in the state.

Uttarakhand is set to become the first to implement the UCC in the country, with its template being looked at by other BJP-ruled states.

Among the Muslim candidates fielded by the BJP are Chandni and Parvez Alam, who are contesting for the post of chairperson of the Muslim-dominated Padali Gujar and Rampur nagar panchayats in Haridwar district. While Muslims make up 60% of the population in Padali Gujar, they number around 80% in Rampur.

Chandni, 50, is the sister-in-law of BJP leader Bahroz Alam, who runs a dairy business and was eyeing the seat but was forced to withdraw as the panchayat came to be reserved for an OBC woman.

Parvez is the nephew of local BJP leader Mohammad Alam.

Bahroz claims voters are “not opposing them due to the UCC as they also want progress”. “The BJP has worked for the empowerment of the community, the abolition of instant triple talaq is benefiting Muslim women… We are seeking votes on the promise of providing basic amenities like roads, electricity, water and on local development issues.”

Hussain says that apart from fielding its own Muslim candidates, the BJP is also supporting Independent candidates belonging to the community. For instance, the candidates in Manglaur and Pirankaliyar in Haridwar, and Kelakhera in Udham Singh Nagar. He says the party is also trying to explain the “benefits” of the proposed amendments in the waqf Act (a Bill is pending in Parliament) and the UCC.

State Waqf Board chairman Shadab Shams, appointed by the party as the coordinator for the Padali Gujar, Rampur and Pirankaliyar nagar panchayats, says people realise that BJP governments have provided “welfare benefits to all, irrespective of religion”, and don’t have anger over the UCC.

“While the Opposition is raking up issues like the waqf amendment Bill (which is pending in Parliament) and the UCC, the community understands that a uniform civil code is in their interest and that of the nation,” he says.

To remain focused on its plank, the BJP has taken care not to venture into any controversy, and to not involve clerics.  “We are not inviting imams as our focus is on the achievements of the government,” Hussain says.