The Lokniti post-poll survey indicates that the majority of Hindus support the BJP while the minorities don’t (“The verdict is a manifestation of the deepening religious divide in India,” May 30). While the NDA has reasons to celebrate its astounding victory in the election, it is shocking to see how polarised India has become. We need to think about how we arrived at this juncture. One hopes that political parties will refrain from further dividing the nation in the name of religion for petty political gains.
V. Shujaath Ahmed,
Ambur
Many minorities do not take Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s catchphrase ‘sabka vishwas’ seriously. BJP leaders use it to gloss over the party’s strident stand on linguistic and religious minorities. If the stray incidents of violence against Muslims on the heels of the party’s victory are anything to go by, things are not likely to be any different in the next five years. Second, the BJP’s oft-repeated criticism of vote bank politics doesn’t hold water as the party has carved out a mammoth vote bank for itself along religious lines. Third, the survey also shows that polarisation is most where the proportion of Muslims is high. However, Hindus in the south have voted differently. What explains the lack of consolidation of Hindu votes in favour of the BJP proportional to the concentration of minorities in Kerala, where Muslims and Christians together constitute nearly 45% of the population? I think this exception is the only saving grace in the election. There is very little to dispute the conclusion of the survey. It basically means we are seeing the demise of secularism.
Abdul Assis, P.A.,
Thrissur