Did Shah Say 'Didn’t Give Tickets to Muslims as They Don’t Vote for BJP'? No!

Ahead of the Bihar polls, Amit Shah’s interview clip is viral with claims he said Muslims don’t vote for the BJP

Fact-Check: The post falsely claims Amit Shah said the BJP denies tickets to Muslims since they don’t vote for it.

(Source: X/Altered by The Quint)

Home Minister Amit Shah recently visited Bihar's Madhubani ahead of the Bihar elections and gave an interview to Aaj Tak's journalist Anjana Om Kashyap.

During the conversation, Kashyap asked Shah why the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had not given any tickets to Muslim candidates this time.

What's the claim?: The clip is being circulated with the assertion that Shah admitted BJP did not give tickets to Muslim candidates in the Bihar elections because they don’t vote for the party.

You can view an archive of the post here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

What's the truth?: The viral claim is false. 

• While Shah did say “Bhartiya Janta Party ne Muslim ko ticket nahi diya, yeh pehli baar nahi hua hai.”(This isn't the first time the BJP hasn't given tickets to Muslims.)

• He further explained, “Jo jeetta hai, usse dete hain” ( Tickets are given to only those who are most likely to win).

• Therefore, the claim that he said Muslims were denied tickets because they don’t vote for the BJP is incorrect.

What we found: We located the original interview from which the viral clip was taken and went through the entire discussion.

• The conversation touches upon several key topics, such as the construction of the Sita Temple in Sitamarhi, comments on Rahul Gandhi, and also includes a discussion on giving tickets to Muslim candidates.

• On the question of not giving tickets to Muslim candidates, here’s what Amit Shah actually said:

• At 14:42, Kashyap asks why no tickets have been given to Muslims for the Bihar Assembly elections.

• To this, Shah replies, “NDA se chaar Musalman lad rahe hain. Aur Bhartiya Janata Party ne Muslim ko ticket nahi diya, yeh pehli baar nahi hua hai.” (There are four Muslim candidates contesting from the NDA. And this is not the first time the Bharatiya Janata Party hasn’t given a ticket to a Muslim.)

• The journalist then asks, “Iske peeche kya wajah hai, sir? Soch kya hai?” (What is the reason behind this, sir? What’s the thought process?)

Explaining the BJP's approach to ticket distribution, Shah says, “Koi wajah nahi hai. Jo jeetta hai, usse dete hain.” (There’s no particular reason. We give tickets to those who can win.)

Conclusion: Nowhere in the interview does Amit Shah say that Muslims were denied tickets because they don’t vote for BJP. His comments were focused on the party’s practice of giving tickets to those with the highest chances of winning and not on religion.

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