elections

'...Muslims do want to materially improve their lives, like anyone else, but they are willing to build alliances against those in whom they see their biggest enemy: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)... And then, there is this piece of evidence from the India Today-Axis My India exit poll: “When asked about the reason for voting in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Muslim voters said it was on account of its winnability against the BJP.

'Its debacle in Delhi may be seen by many as a rebuff to the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), but BJP does not intend to back down from its plan to use the new law as one of its key planks. The BJP leadership believes the focus on CAA was the reason why its vote share improved by over 6%...'

'As Delhi went to polls on Saturday, where it recorded a turnout of over 60 per cent, BJP Karnataka shared a video of Muslim women voters standing in a polling booth to cast their franchise. The Karnataka BJP captioned the video with a tinge of sarcasm, saying, “Kaagaz Nahi Dikhayenge Hum” — a slogan that emerged and gained popularity during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests. “Kaagaz” has come to denote documents that establish identity. “Keep the documents safe, you will need to show them again during NPR exercise,” the tweet read...'

'Delhi goes to the polls on Saturday after one of the most communally divisive campaigns the capital has experienced in recent times. The combination of nation-wide protests against the government’s Citizenship Act amendments and a genuine contender in the form of the Aam Aadmi Party has seen the Bharatiya Janata Party throw everything at the wall in the hopes of polarising the electorate. Much of the BJP’s campaign has sought to divide on the basis of religion, in the hopes of consolidating Hindu voters behind it, a tactic that has worked for the party in other places...'