Muslims worry Modi’s party will rely on familiar tactics of drawing on religious divisions as it battles Congress to to retain seats in Karnataka
The sun scorched the carpeted car park at Mudipu Junction outside Mangalore in Karnataka state as volunteers arranged rows of red plastic chairs and placed mounds of biryani and fruit on the table for a public iftar, the moment Muslims break their fast during Ramadan.
But this was no ordinary iftar. India is in the midst of a general election during which prime minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are seeking a third term, and factionalism is rife.
The BJP, a formidably well-oiled machine, is going all out in Karnataka because it is the only state in south India where it has a foothold. Its presence in the other southern states is negligible. For a party with vaunting ambitions to reshape the political landscape for generations to come, this has frustrated the leadership.
In the last general election in 2019, the BJP won 25 of Karnataka’s 28 seats. But the BJP may not be able to repeat such a decisive victory this time round; while the Congress party has languished in opposition for 10 years at a national level, it won a handsome victory in state elections last year.
It is not yet clear whether BJP candidates will rely on the party’s familiar tactics of drawing on religious divisions and polarising voters, but given such high stakes the campaign has the potential to turn vicious.
Amid such a climate, the organisers of the iftar decided, they said, to make a point of inviting Hindu and Christian residents in Mudipu to share the meal earlier this month.
This story was originally published in theguardian.com. Read the full story here.