President Droupadi Murmu, on Tuesday, appointed the 73-year-old Arif Khan for a second term as Governor, but of Bihar, this time. Khan, who took charge as Governor of Kerala on 6 September 2019, completed his five-year term in the southern state before the Centre shifted him to poll-bound Bihar, which has a sizable population of Muslims, as Governor.

The appointment has political significance on many fronts.

The BJP’s and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s fondness for Arif Khan is not new. His political history in the Congress — including a public fallout with Rajiv Gandhi on the Supreme Court judgment in the Shah Bano case — is foundational to the relationship.

Moreover, his progressive views on Muslim women’s rights, staunch support for the triple talaq ban, the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), and the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, his knowledge of not only the Quran but also the Gita, and acceptability among Muslim liberals have also allowed him to create a distinct identity within the BJP.

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Fate of other Muslim leaders in BJP

In the early decades of the BJP during the times of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani, Sikander Bakht was the most prominent Muslim face of the party in the 1980s and 1990s.

Bakht was made Cabinet minister in 1977 under the Morarji Desai government, and after Jan Sangh became the BJP in 1980, he became party general secretary under the presidency of Vajpayee.

Bakht also served as the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha in the 1990s. After Vajpayee became PM in 1996, he became the urban development affairs minister and then the foreign minister. Later, in 1998, under the Vajpayee government, he served as the commerce minister till 2002, when he retired from politics.

Vajpayee then appointed Bakht as the Governor of Kerala in 2002.

Another Muslim leader who gained prominence in the BJP was Syed Shahnawaz Hussain. He became one of the youngest ministers in the Vajpayee government after winning from Bihar’s Kishanganj. However, his fortunes declined under the Modi government, and he was a state minister in the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government before being dropped later.

Similarly, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who remained a Muslim face of the BJP for several years, served as Union minister during Modi’s second term. But, the party did not reward him with any governorships.

Former Union minister Najma Heptulla, on the other hand, had the chance to serve as Governor for one term.

Arif Khan’s ‘Modi achieved what Nehru dreamt’

When the Modi government passed the triple talaq bill in Parliament in July 2019, Arif Mohammed Khan hailed the PM in a media interview, saying he achieved what Jawaharlal Nehru only dreamt of.

In the interview, Arif Khan said, “When in the late 1950s, Taya Zinkin, the chief correspondent of the Guardian, asked Pandit Nehru as to what he considers his greatest achievement, he replied: ‘I was able to secure rights for my Hindu sisters which were denied to them for centuries’. She further asked about his greatest disappointment, and Panditji said: ‘I was not able to do the same for my Muslim sisters’. I am sure Panditji, wherever he may be, would be immensely pleased with Narendra Modi for having accomplished what Panditji had dreamed for.”

Arif Khan not only backed the BJP government for bringing the triple talaq bill but also called out the Congress for opposing the bill on the whims of a single organisation — the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB).

Back in the day, the defining point of Arif Khan’s political career came when he was a minister of state, holding the charges of home, energy and company affairs between 1984 and 1986. It all began when the Supreme Court delivered a historic verdict in 1985, granting alimony to a divorced Muslim woman, Shah Bano.

First, the Rajiv Gandhi-led government fielded Khan to speak in Parliament in favour of the judgment, which the Muslim clergy and the AIMPLB had started criticising.

Later, the Congress party realised its stance might cost the party politically and fielded another minister, Ziaur Rahman Ansari, to contradict Arif Khan’s views and challenge the SC judgment. It was the Congress viewpoint that had flip-flopped.

Following this, Khan resigned from the Rajiv Gandhi Cabinet, citing the Shah Bano case, and became the blue-eyed boy of the liberal world.

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How Arif Khan defended Bhagwat, Yogi

A month before Arif Mohammed Khan was appointed Governor of Kerala in 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah said at a function at the Delhi Constitution Club, “On behalf of everyone, I want to congratulate Arif Mohammad Khan, who, despite being a Muslim, kept speaking against triple talaq. A single man stood against the decision of the Rajiv Gandhi government. Even today, he continues to speak out vocally on triple talaq.”

From triple talaq to UCC and the controversial waqf amendment bill, which has been pending with a joint parliamentary committee, Arif Mohammed Khan has become the leading Muslim voice in the BJP, defending the BJP in the Muslim community.

When Modi made a strong pitch for UCC in a meeting in Bhopal in 2023, Arif Mohammed Khan said, “UCC is constitutional objective to deliver uniform justice to all communities that is common for  all communities; there is a wrong narrative being built around uniform civil code, that by adopting it there will be an intrusion in our religious practice or existence of other countries will be in danger.”

At the time, the Union govt was pressing for amendments in the waqf bill — the prime focus of the government legislative agenda in 2025 — which has become another flash point between the Opposition and the BJP. Arif Mohammed Khan backed the legislation while participating in a programme in Uttar Pradesh, saying that the waqf department was with him for a few days, “so I think no one can deny what happens there”. “Law needs to be changed; there is not a single waqf on which there is no litigation.”

When RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was under attack for his remark on what he called the “boisterous rhetoric of supremacy” among Muslims, Arif Mohammed Khan, who has enjoyed a great relationship with the RSS since 1986, came to Bhagwat’s defence.

In an interview with the Organiser, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief had said, “The simple truth is this — Hindustan should remain Hindustan. There is no harm to the Muslims living in Bharat today…. Islam has nothing to fear. But at the same time, Muslims must abandon their boisterous rhetoric of supremacy.”

Replying to a question, Arif Mohammed Khan denied that Bhagwat had in any way implied “Muslims should be relegated to the status of second-class citizens in the country”, emphasising “if someone is inferring this from Bhagwat’s statement, he is mistaken”.

“There are social disparities in our society, but equality is our cherished ideal and an aspiration that is deeply reflected in the Constitution and is, in fact, one of the pillars of the Constitution,” the then Kerala governor said.

In the latest instance, Khan backed UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s statement: ‘batoge toh katoge‘. “He said there should be a feeling of unity among everyone; there is nothing wrong (in that) either,“ Khan explained.

By helping with the BJP’s outreach in Muslim constituencies, Arif Mohammed Khan has also proved his political utility for the party.

With his appointment in Bihar, the BJP is hoping to dilute the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s hold over Muslim pockets and manage narratives in this election year in and beyond Bihar.

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‘Goodwill gesture by Modi govt’

Addressing an NDA meeting in August this year, Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar shared with BJP, his party’s NDA partner, that whether Muslims vote for the alliance or not, it would work for them, and there should not be any confusion regarding that.

When BJP MP Giriraj Singh stoked Hindutva polarisation by proposing a ‘Hindu Swabhiman Yatra’ in Muslim-dominated districts, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar clarified during an NDA meeting that there would be no compromise on communal harmony.

At the meeting, JD(U) leader Lalan Singh took a dig at Giriraj Singh, saying that he has his USP (unique selling point), but the NDA must not compromise on communal harmony. Giriraj, who was present, ignored the jibe.

A JD(U) leader told ThePrint: “Muslims are 16 percent of Bihar’s population, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) made a strong start with 14 percent Yadavs and 16 percent Muslims backing the party. Muslims have no reservations about Nitish Kumar, and in Seemanchal, Muslims voted for the JD(U) but not as aggressively as for the RJD. The only complaint of most Muslims against Nitish Kumar is his association with the BJP.”

“But through his development work and ‘vikas purush’ image, Nitish Kumar has turned the tide in Muslim constituencies. Now, ahead of the polls next year, a prominent Muslim leader has been appointed Governor. It will help in managing the narrative and help Nitish Kumar limit the animosity towards the NDA,” he added.

Bihar has 47 assembly seats, where the Muslim population is significant. Over the years, JD(U) has been losing Muslim votes due to Mahagathbandhan’s credentials of giving a better fight to the BJP.

In the 2010 assembly election, the JD(U) got 40 percent of Muslim votes. In the 2020 assembly election, the JD(U), which was in an alliance with the BJP, garnered roughly a mere 11 percent of the Muslim votes. Even the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) got more Muslim votes — nearly 14 percent — securing five assembly seats. Approximately 77 percent of the Muslims voted for Mahagathbandhan.

Not even one Muslim candidate of JD(U) secured a victory in the 2020 assembly election. The JD(U)’s setback in constituencies with a significant Muslim population put the party in the third position after RJD and BJP. The NDA, however, triumphed over Mahagathbandhan in the overall election.

Speaking to ThePrint, veteran JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi termed Arif Mohammed Khan as an old friend of Nitish Kumar since their days in the Lok Dal and ministerships in the V.P. Singh government. “With them sharing a good chemistry, this is a goodwill gesture,” he said, commenting on the Modi government’s move to appoint Arif Khan as Bihar Governor.

Tyagi recalled that Arif Khan was close to Piloo Mody, the general secretary of Bharatiya Kranti Dal. “During the Emergency, we were all put in jail. Then, Arif Khan contested on a Janata Party ticket and became MLA. Later, he joined Congress, shifted to BSP, and then BJP. He is an astute politician and a great political mind. That is the reason he ascended the ladder.”

A minister in the Nitish Kumar-led government from the BJP told ThePrint, “The BJP’s top-most priority is to keep Nitish Kumar in good humour. There should not be any confusion in the Bihar alliance to ensure the NDA’s stability at the Centre. Amit Shah had made a statement that a parliamentary board would decide who would be the Bihar CM, but he later realised it was a misfire. Several ministers, from Giriraj Singh to Samrat Choudhary, were then told to clarify that the NDA will fight the Bihar election under Nitish Kumar, and he will be the CM.”

“There was a time when Giriraj Singh was most critical of Nitish Kumar. The 2024 Lok Sabha results have changed the entire situation. Now, he is demanding Bharat Ratna for Nitish Kumar. The Arif Khan appointment is another step to keep Nitish Kumar in good humour and help NDA do a balancing act in Muslim constituencies and manage narratives in this election year,” he said.

JD(U) MLC Gulam Rasool Balyawi told ThePrint, “Nitish Kumar has worked for all communities, and that is why he became ‘vikas purush’ of Bihar. The NDA won the Belaganj by-election because Muslims supported Nitish Kumar. Whether we got votes or not, Muslims have had no animosity towards Nitish Kumar. The appointment of a learned person and Muslim intellectual will only create more goodwill among Muslims.”

The appointment of Arif Khan has elicited a sharp reaction from the RJD and Congress in Bihar, with both parties seeing through the BJP’s designs to weaken the RJD’s hold over Muslim constituencies.

RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad told ThePrint, “The minority constituencies of Bihar know which party is fighting with the BJP to protect its interests, and they (NDA) will not get success in dividing the Muslim vote bank in Bihar.”

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)

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