Indian Elections: Congress should thank the Muslim voters who keep this country secular,

Islam and Politics

Indian Elections: Congress should thank the Muslim voters who keep this country secular

Cong also needs to thank Mulayam, Varun & Buddha

By Bharat Bhushan

CONGRESSMEN have been waiting to proclaim Rahul Gandhi a hero. This election has given them a reason to do so. The vote in UP is being seen as crucial to understanding the 2009 verdict.

Political pundits are proclaiming the end of identity politics, and heralding a long awaited dawn of a national politics based on pan- Indian issues.

Rahul’s agenda for the Congress for 2014, some say, should be to go it alone in all states. Before committing itself to what is being called the “ Rahul doctrine” the Congress party should take a long hard look at the electoral results.

A cursory analysis of the election results in UP, Bihar and West Bengal shows two things that question these early conclusions about future Congress strategy: One, the Congress in UP, and perhaps in other states, has been voted in by Muslims who en masse shifted allegiance to it; and two, that caste- based voters stayed loyal to caste- based parties.

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