Muslim representation, or the lack of it, in India’s electoral politics has been a subject of debate for decades. But the debate has become more intense after the BJP came to power at the centre in 2014. The electoral marginalisation of Muslims is not restricted to the saffron party alone; other parties have also been equally reluctant to field Muslim candidates due to the fear of being charged with “minority appeasement” since the ruling dispensation succeeded in decisively shifting the electoral discourse to the right of the ideological spectrum. Even though electoral dynamics have increasingly shifted towards the “Hindu versus the rest” polarisation model, “secular” parties like the Congress and others still count on the Muslim vote. But not the BJP, which has aggressively cultivated its own vote bank and frequently wins elections without relying on large shares of Muslim votes.

Opponents of the BJP accuse it of being anti-Muslim, who make up around 15 per cent of India's population, according to the 2011 Census. The party is also accused of being quite loath to field Muslim candidates even in constituencies where Muslim voters make up a significant chunk of the electorate. For instance, it did not field any in India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, in three successive elections in 2014, 2017 and 2019, though Muslims make up 19 per cent of the state’s population. As an anchor of India’s right-wing politics centred around Hindu nationalism and cultural conservatism, the BJP’s march to political dominance is a result of the success of its electoral and ideological strategy that seeks to subsume diverse and fragmented castes under a........

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