The resounding victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India’s 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).
People voted for the BJP due to huge dissatisfaction with the former Congress led-government, a desire for change and an attraction for the party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The popular vote also cut across age, gender and social backgrounds.
Sections of the Hindu upper castes voted overwhelmingly in favour of the BJP. But his was hardly a reaction to a perceived consolidation of Muslims – who comprise 13% of India’s billion-strong population – against the party.
