By Reuters
A Hindu group closely linked to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is installing Muslims loyal to it in leadership positions at Muslim universities as part of a push to garner Muslim votes ahead of national elections, officials said.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which Modi joined in his youth and which is the de facto parent of his political party, is trying to woo Muslim voters away from Congress and other parties that they have traditionally supported.
Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won about 9 percent of the Muslim vote in the past two general elections, is targeting up to 17 percent in the elections due by May. Opinion polls suggest the BJP, which has no Muslim members in parliament, will easily win a rare third straight term.
“It is for certain that the BJP will win a much bigger percentage of Muslim votes than the last time,” said senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar, chief patron of the group’s Muslim wing, which says it is trying to win over the poor majority of India’s 200 million Muslims.
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