Rhetoric focusing on religion and inequality has dominated much of India’s massive seven-phase vote running through Jun 1, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces accusations of targeting minority Muslims in its campaign.
The Northeast Delhi constituency elected a BJP lawmaker in the past two national elections, in 2014 and 2019.
Modi, favoured to become only the second person to win three consecutive terms as India’s prime minister, referred to Muslims as “infiltrators” and people who have “more children” in a speech last month. He later denied targeting the group that constitutes about 200 million of majority-Hindu India’s 1.4 billion people.
“I want to vote for peace and brotherhood. It’s difficult that the BJP will garner any votes here,” said Mansuri, in a thought echoed by voters in Mustafabad, including some Hindus.
Mithilesh, 42, a Hindu woman who gave only her first name, said she feared for her safety during the riots as a crowd stabbed two youths to death on her street while she was locked inside her house with her daughter-in-law.
“We heard their screams and were scared of what would happen to us. Our member of parliament at the time was from the BJP, who wants votes again, but we will not vote for him.”
Sabir Ali, 42, a Muslim tailor, said Modi’s speeches are just political rhetoric. “But if he thinks Muslims will vote for him despite these speeches, then he is mistaken.”
