The resounding victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Indias recently concluded general election is being interpreted by some as a religious vote in favour of the Hindu nationalist party. It is true that the politically crucial states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh - the two account for 120 of the 543 seats in the parliament - witnessed a decisive shift of votes of the upper castes, caste groups known as Other Backward Classes (OBC) and lower-caste Dalits (formerly known as untouchables) in favour of the BJP. But it may be inappropriate to say that all those who voted for the BJP were motivated to vote for the party due to its ideology of Hindutva (Hinduness). Political scientist Sanjay Kumar explains who did Indias Muslims vote for in the recently concluded general election? bbc/news/world-asia-india-27615592?OCID=fbbbcindia
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 08:30:00 +0000