Hussain probably knew it was coming. The 31-year-old MP from Kishanganj in Bihar was the only elected Muslim from the BJP and the party was only too keen to give representation to all communities. Sitting in the south Delhi guest house of Modern Food Industries (which comes under his ministry of Food Processing), surrounded by well-wishers, Hussain would like to believe that it were his other qualifications which got him a berth in the council of ministers.

``I got the seat for BJP which it has never won in Bihar. And that too which has a Muslim population of 7.5 lakh, more than any other constituency in the country,'' he says. Hussain defeated sitting MP Taslimuddin, former minister of state for home, by a margin of over 8,600 votes.

According to him, hisvictory from Kishanganj is a matter of shame for Laloo Yadav. ``Not only are there 70 per cent Muslims in the constituency, there are six per cent Yadavs -- the loyal vote bank of Laloo. Yet I defeated his candidate,'' he adds.

But wasn't it difficult for him to convince the Muslim electorate to vote for the BJP, which was once an anathema for the minority community? ``I managed to convince the Muslims that it was only the BJP which would bring them into the national mainstream. The so-called secular parties had kept the Muslims away from progress and development, by keeping them isolated and by making out the BJP into a communal monster. If the Muslims are poor and unemployed, then the previous governments are responsible for it. They believed me that their future is secure under Atal Behari Vajpayee,'' he says with conviction.

Hussain cites other reasons why BJP is better that than the ``so-called secular parties'' for the Muslims. ``Look at the Kargil war. All during the war, not even a single Muslimwas picked up by the police and questioned. Vajpayeeji never let anybody feel persecuted just because he was a Muslim or questioned his patriotism. In the previous wars, in 1947 and 1962, when Congress was ruling, hundreds of Muslims were picked up and put behind bars. Their sympathies were doubted. It was so humiliating,'' he adds.