In Uttar Pradesh, the cow, and its progeny, an animal essential for the rural economy, has transformed into a symbol of distress for both Muslims and Hindus.
Muzaffar Assadi, a keen politics watcher and Mysore University professor, elaborates on why he thinks BJP is on stage one of its Hindutva project in Karnataka, and is thus not as likely to reap the benefits of the exercise in the upcoming polls.
Like the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots polarised the state along Hindu-Muslim lines in the run-up to the 2014 LS polls, the Atiq-Ashraf killings threaten to do the sameahead of the big battle in 2024
Most of the religious heads who had hogged the limelight, desiring to enter the poll fray in the previous Assembly elections, have backtracked this time. The “polluted politics” has dampened the spirit of these seers who were overwhelmed and inspired by the election of Yogi Adityanath, the Mahant of the Gorakhnath Mutt, as Uttar Pradesh chief minister.