Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stepped up divisive rhetoric against Muslims throughout the election campaign, using some of the most harsh language of his decade in power to bash opponents and mobilize Hindu voters as his party seeks a historic third term.
Modi has referred to the country’s Muslim minority as “infiltrators” in a series of rallies since India’s general election began on April 19, likened his Bharatiya Janata party’s arch-rival Indian National Congress to the historic pro-Pakistan Muslim League, and accused Congress of attempting to “loot” wealth from Hindus and redistribute it to Muslims.
“Congress wants to take part of the rights of [lower-caste Hindus] and give it to their vote bank,” Modi said during a campaign event in Goa on Saturday. “And you know who Congress’s favourite vote bank is,” he added, making a thinly veiled reference to Muslims.
The same day, Anurag Thakur, the BJP’s communication minister, warned another crowd that Congress “wants to give your children’s property to Muslims”.
Modi’s intensification of aggressive rhetoric comes as the BJP seeks to rally support among Hindus, who account for over 80% of the population, in order to gain a super-majority and entrench its domination in national politics.
Modi Ups his Hindu Muslim Rhetoric
The BJP aims to win 370 of the 543 available parliamentary seats, up from 303 in 2019. The results will be announced on June 4, following six weeks of delayed voting.
However, observers who consider the Hindu nationalist BJP as the favourites believe this goal will be difficult to achieve, citing evidence of a dip in turnout during the first two rounds of voting and anti-incumbency feeling in portions of the ruling party’s northern heartland.
“I don’t think I have seen a prime minister speak such inflammatory rhetoric,” said Asim Ali, an independent political analyst, adding that Modi was attempting to “energise the Hindutva [Hindu nationalist] base”.
“Because the prime minister is saying this now, local level BJP operatives are free to take it up.”
The divisive turn has enraged Modi’s detractors, who have filed complaints with India’s electoral commission for suspected violations of the code of conduct. The body sent a notice to the BJP last week, but did not identify Modi and has yet to take action.
During a rally in Agra, home to the Taj Mahal monument erected by a Muslim Mughal ruler, Modi accused Congress of pandering to religious minorities.
“The politics of appeasement has divided the country into pieces,” Modi claimed, claiming that opposition parties are attempting to “steal” from Hindus. Muslims make up approximately 14% of India’s population.
India’s Rahul Gandhi Steps Up Pressure
Congress denies these allegations, accusing the business-friendly BJP of diverting government funding to billionaires while ignoring unemployment and inequality. It has promised to conduct a caste census, which it claims will help allocate resources to underprivileged communities.
Rahul Gandhi, a Congress leader and Modi’s most visible opponent, said on Friday that Modi appeared “very nervous”.
“Narendra Modi has snatched money from the poor . . . [and] given it to the billionaires,” he claimed. “We will give that money to the poor people of India.”
Because India has tight restrictions forbidding the publication of exit polls during the election, there is no confirmed information about any party’s standing.
However, many doubt that the BJP, which swept much of India in 2019, would be able to considerably increase its seat total.
Reaching 370 seats appears to be “a bit of a puzzle, as to where the extra seats are going to come from,” according to Ronojoy Sen, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, who speculates that the objective may have been designed to motivate party cadres.
Both Hindu and Muslim voters in Agra expressed dissatisfaction with the campaign’s provocative tone. Rizwan Ahmed, 18, said there was “no such problem” between faiths, but “politicians just say things and then people twist the statements”.
“This kind of polarisation and communal rhetoric, of course it’ll appeal to your core voters,” Sen said in a statement. “But I’m not sure how well it works in expanding the core.”
Source: Financial Times
