Why BJP’s ‘Muslim reservation’ scare didn’t, and can’t, work
- Chandrima Banerjee
- TIMESOFINDIA.COMUpdated: Jun 11, 2024, 21:37 IST IST
In rally after rally, the BJP invoked one talking point over and over — that the Congress and its allies would cut into reservations meant for SC, ST and OBC communities with a quota for Muslims. But it missed an important point
In an average Indian village, town or city, a person from a dominant caste owns about three times the assets a Dalit person owns. We know ours is an unequal society — with a wealth gap that is never relenting and often written off as a fact of life by those not affected by it. And when everyone is scrambling for access to a limited pool of opportunities, it might appear that the fear of losing space could be a strong political driving force. But it does not always work like that.
On the day the Lok Sabha election results came out, a number of people following the developments posted that one of the places where the BJP had lost was Banswara in Rajasthan — where the prime minister had invoked a theory that the Congress would snatch what rightfully belonged to the people and give it away to those in the Muslim community, and a seat the party used to hold for the past decade.
On the day the Lok Sabha election results came out, a number of people following the developments posted that one of the places where the BJP had lost was Banswara in Rajasthan — where the prime minister had invoked a theory that the Congress would snatch what rightfully belonged to the people and give it away to those in the Muslim community, and a seat the party used to hold for the past decade.