By Admin 
‘Terrorists attacked in Pahalgam. Within 20 days of this, they entered Pakistan and carried out Operation Sindoor. If Pakistan dares again, they will respond to the bullets with cannon balls. We will teach a lesson to Pakistanis with the cannon balls made in the factory in Bihar.
On November 4, Home Minister Amit Shah said these words in a meeting in Bettiah, Bihar. This is not the first time that votes were sought by targeting Pakistan or Muslims in election rallies. Terrorism flourished in Pakistan, which is true. But BJP always asks for votes with the help of this and also wins the elections. Believe it, without Muslims, Aurangzeb, Mughals or Pakistan, BJP will not get votes.
So let us understand in ABP Explainer why BJP’s soft target is Muslims-Pakistan, will the lotus not bloom without these issues and what will be its impact in Bihar elections…
Question 1- How did BJP raise the issue of Muslims, Pakistan and Mughals in the election rallies of Bihar?
answer- BJP’s focus in Bihar 2025 elections has been on security and identity, where Pakistan became a ‘symbol of terror’, Muslims ‘infiltrators’ and Mughals ‘historical enemies’.
- During the election rally in Bettiah on 4 November, Amit Shah said, ‘Rahul Gandhi had visited here a few days ago. This journey was to save the infiltrators. They may try as much as they want, but we will drive out each and every infiltrator.
- On November 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an election rally in Katihar, Bihar. PM Modi said, ‘Be it Congress or RJD, they are only interested in infiltrators. These people undertake political tours to save infiltrators. Tell me whether you will decide the future of Bihar or the infiltrators will decide it. These infiltrators are occupying your property and taking over your resources. Bihar has to be saved from infiltrators. We are working to remove these infiltrators.
- On October 31, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, while addressing an election rally in Vaishali, Bihar, said, ‘PM Modi can destroy Pakistan in 5 hours, but he does not do so because the people of Pakistan were also once a part of India.’
- On October 30, PM Modi held an election rally in Muzaffarpur and Chhapra in Bihar. He said, ‘When the blasts were taking place in Pakistan, the ‘royal family’ of the party lost its sleep. Both the notables of Pakistan and Congress have not yet emerged from Operation Sindoor.
- On October 21, Amit Shah said in Siwan, ‘Rahul Gandhi is undertaking a yatra to save the infiltrators. They want infiltrators to be allowed to stay in the country. Right now the elections have thrown out the infiltrators through SIR. Once NDA forms the government, BJP will throw out each and every infiltrator.
- On October 19, in Arwal, Bihar, Union Minister Giriraj Singh described Muslims as ‘Namak Haram’ in an election rally. He said, ‘People of the Muslim community also take advantage of the schemes of the Central Government, but they do not vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, due to which they do not feel obliged. We don’t need such salt bastards.
Not only this, BJP also took the help of Mughals in the election rally in Bihar in 2020. In the election rally in Bhagalpur on 28 October 2020, Amit Shah had said, ‘Mughals tortured Hindus during Aurangzeb’s rule. Today RJD is running Jungle Raj, like Aurangzeb’s dictatorship. Save Hindu pride by voting for NDA.
Question 2- Why does BJP capitalize on the issues of Pakistan, Muslims and Mughals in elections?
answer- The core of BJP’s strategy is Hindutva – an ideological framework that places Hindu identity at the center of nationalism. Political scientist Vinay Sitapati in his book ‘Jugalbandi: The BJP before Modi’ He writes, ‘BJP uses these issues to unite Hindus, because Hindu population is around 80%, but caste-based division scatters them. Creating fear of national security by portraying Pakistan as a source of terror, capitalizing on minority fears by calling Muslims as infiltrators and evoking a sense of historical injustice by portraying the Mughals as foreign tyrants, all these strengthen the Hindu vote bank.
Human Rights Watch’s 2024 report ‘India: Hate speech fueled Modi’s election campaign’ It is written that BJP shared an animated video calling Muslims ‘infiltrators’ in the 2024 Lok Sabha, which received 1.6 million views. Their aim was to consolidate Hindu votes by blaming the opposition for ‘Muslim appeasement’.
Time magazine’s 2023 report ‘How India’s BJP is weaponizing history against Muslims’ Experts say that making Mughals villains is BJP’s way of promoting Hindu nationalism. Like the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, which was associated with the Mughal emperor Babar.
Political expert Rashid Kidwai says, ‘This strategy is more clearly visible in Bihar. In the 2020 Bihar elections, BJP gave the slogan of ’80 vs 20’ i.e. 80% Hindus vs 20% Muslims. Due to this, Yogi Adityanath collected votes in UP. BJP rewrites history to target present-day Muslims by portraying the Mughals as ‘anti-Hindu’. This is vote bank politics, which attracts Hindu votes through fear and anger.
Question 3- Is there any historical background for BJP doing politics on polarizing issues?
answer- BJP has its roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), formed in 1925, which is based on Hindu nationalism. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s 2019 report ‘The BJP in Power: Indian Democracy and Religious Nationalism’ According to , the RSS always considered Muslims ‘separate from Indianness’, because the 1947 partition was for them ‘the defeat of Hindu unity’. BJP, formed in 1980, started the Ram Mandir movement in the 1990s, in which the Ram Janmabhoomi was built by demolishing the mosque of Mughal emperor Babar.
Asia Times 2024 report ‘BJP’s anti-Muslim rhetoric has deep, dark historical roots’ According to the BJP, the BJP considers Pakistan a symbol of ‘Muslim separatism’, which is linked to the ‘two-nation theory’ of the Muslim League of the 1940s.
National Herald’s 2017 report ‘Why is the BJP targeting the Mughals’ It was said that BJP arouses Hindu pride by branding the Mughals as ‘foreign invaders’ because it is easier than talking about real issues like unemployment and poverty.
‘Aurangzeb: The Man and the Myth’ According to Andre Truschke, an expert who has written the book, BJP attacks present-day Muslims by making Aurangzeb ‘anti-Hindu’. This is a ‘dog whistle’, which gives signal to hate speech. Professor Ramchandra Guha in his book ‘After Gandhi’ He writes that in the 1980-90s, BJP converted communal riots into votes, like the Babri riots of 1992.
Today it spreads on social media. In 2024, videos on BJP’s Instagram calling Muslims ‘heirs of Muslim League’ went viral. In the 2020 Bihar elections, BJP mentioned ‘Pakistani flag’ along with ‘Jungle Raj’. The Print’s 2025 report ‘Mutton, Mughal, Muslim: Modi is showing the opposition as un-Hindu’ According to , BJP consolidates Hindu votes by terming the opposition as having ‘Mughal mentality’. This is always because promises of development do not last, but fear always works.
Question 4- Does BJP completely ignore Muslims or is there a soft strategy?
answer- No. BJP does not target ‘Pasmanda’ i.e. OBC Muslims. In 2019, BJP won 3 Pasmanda out of 27 Muslim MPs. The Diplomat’s 22 November 2022 report ‘How and Why, the BJP Sometimes Courts Muslim Voters’ According to, BJP in UP woos Pasmanda in the name of ‘social justice’. But overall Indian Express report 2024 ‘Why is the BJP shy away from fielding Muslim candidates’ According to , BJP fields less Muslim candidates because the chances of winning are less.
scroll.in’s 14 December 2023 report ‘The BJP and the Muslim Voter’ According to BJP shows ‘inclusivity’ to Sufis and Pasmandas, but never leaves Hindutva.
Question 5- Does BJP benefit from this, if yes then how much?
answer- Yes. In the 2020 Bihar elections, BJP-NDA won 125 seats with 43.17% vote share, while the Grand Alliance won 110 seats with 38.75% vote share. According to Al Jazeera, polarization in Muslim areas like Seemanchal resulted in BJP getting 4/18 seats. Voting is still left in 2025, but the issue of infiltrator is spreading and working in Bihar. Giriraj Singh’s Hindu Swabhiman Yatra has increased polarization.
Rashid Kidwai says, BJP benefits from 80-20 split. But there are some limitations because it drives away tribal voters. Yet in 2019, BJP had won majority in the Lok Sabha with 31% votes and polarization had increased the votes by more than 5%. Now BJP can benefit from this in the coming elections also. But the margin of victory and defeat may remain less.