Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said that Muslims will get representations in the Uttar Pradesh government, although the BJP did not field any Muslim candidate in the Uttar Pradesh State Assembly elections.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Naidu said:
If (a Muslim) MLA is not there, an MLC (member of legislative council) will be there… there will be Muslim representatives in the government.
Defending the absence of Muslim candidates in the election, he said:
It was a weakness, not a mistake. We could not find suitable candidates confident of winning; whom the party thought could win.
He said that BJP emerged victorious in Deobandh, which is a Muslim-dominated area in Uttar Pradesh, due to the central government’s support for the abolition of triple talaq.
Due to the triple talaq issue, Muslim women, especially younger women, voted for us.
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