There was a long standing myth in Indian politics - one cannot win an election without the support of minorities. Hence every political party puts a huge premium on the minority vote. It came to a point that every party used to complete for the minority vote. This gave birth to appeasement politics or what is commonly known as politics of secularism.
Hindus on the other hand were never seen as one community. Politicians in India who were often educated abroad viewed the Hindus not as a community but a collection of castes, cults and sects. Like most western experts the Hindu identity was looked down upon. The only recognition was that of caste.
Hence the path to electoral victory was to secure the minority vote and combine that with a few caste based vote banks.
This logic was turned upside down by a visionary from UP in 1991 - Kalyan Singh. Kalyan Singh dreamt of an 'Universal Spectrum of Hindu Vote' or in simple words a Hindu vote bank. What if all Hindus irrespective of their caste or sect can be unified by under the banner of a common culture. The idea was a very potent one and the BJP for the first time in 1991 got 221 seats.
Kaylan Singh's logic was simple .... if 65% of the population votes , 45% of this total vote will be that of Hindus
1) If 30% out of the total 45% Hindu votes goes to any party, you get a simple majority
2) If 35% out of the total 45% Hindu votes goes to any party, you get a 2/3rd majority
3) If 38% out of the total 45% Hindu votes goes to any party, you get a 3/4th majority
In 2014, Narendra Modi managed 30% vote and got a simple majority. In UP , a 39% vote got a 3/4th majority.
UP elections of 2017 saw the re-birth of the Kalyan Singh model. There are many news reports that claim that Muslims or Muslim women have voted in large numbers of the BJP. There is no truth in this. The minorities did their very best to defeat the BJP. In every constituency, they picked a candidate who was in the best position to defeat the BJP.
How did BJP win in UP.... answer is simple .... they unified Hindus across the spectrum. Its the old Kalyan Singh model which was very well executed.
Going ahead, no party will ignore Hindus for even if 30% of Hindus stay together they have the power to change the destiny of our nation.
Hindus on the other hand were never seen as one community. Politicians in India who were often educated abroad viewed the Hindus not as a community but a collection of castes, cults and sects. Like most western experts the Hindu identity was looked down upon. The only recognition was that of caste.
Hence the path to electoral victory was to secure the minority vote and combine that with a few caste based vote banks.
This logic was turned upside down by a visionary from UP in 1991 - Kalyan Singh. Kalyan Singh dreamt of an 'Universal Spectrum of Hindu Vote' or in simple words a Hindu vote bank. What if all Hindus irrespective of their caste or sect can be unified by under the banner of a common culture. The idea was a very potent one and the BJP for the first time in 1991 got 221 seats.
Kaylan Singh's logic was simple .... if 65% of the population votes , 45% of this total vote will be that of Hindus
1) If 30% out of the total 45% Hindu votes goes to any party, you get a simple majority
2) If 35% out of the total 45% Hindu votes goes to any party, you get a 2/3rd majority
3) If 38% out of the total 45% Hindu votes goes to any party, you get a 3/4th majority
In 2014, Narendra Modi managed 30% vote and got a simple majority. In UP , a 39% vote got a 3/4th majority.
UP elections of 2017 saw the re-birth of the Kalyan Singh model. There are many news reports that claim that Muslims or Muslim women have voted in large numbers of the BJP. There is no truth in this. The minorities did their very best to defeat the BJP. In every constituency, they picked a candidate who was in the best position to defeat the BJP.
How did BJP win in UP.... answer is simple .... they unified Hindus across the spectrum. Its the old Kalyan Singh model which was very well executed.
Going ahead, no party will ignore Hindus for even if 30% of Hindus stay together they have the power to change the destiny of our nation.
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