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‘Secular’ parties are beginning to lose Muslim vote bank

Takes two hands to clap–High time Muslims engage with Hindus.

If India is to meet its main economic, social and geopolitical challenges, Muslim politics has to change. The post-1947 approach of the “secular” parties – which has been about making symbolic concessions to appease Muslims and then dividing the Hindu vote using various means – is now past its sell-by date. Both Muslims and Hindus have seen past this strategy. Muslims are no longer buying the “secular” argument, though not in sufficient numbers yet to make a difference. They still vote en bloc to keep the “communal” BJP out. Hindus are also beginning to see the negative impact of divisive caste and Muslim appeasement politics, and sometimes choosing to vote in a tactical way – as they did in West Bengal and Assam in the recent assembly elections.

In West Bengal, the widely expected Muslim polarisation in favour of Mamata Banerjee did not happen on a scale where she could have won. According to an analysis by The Times of India (5 May 2026), in the 142 seats where Muslim numbers were above the state average, the BJP won 72 seats and the Trinamool Congress 64. Mamata would probably have fared worse if the alliance between Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and Trinamool dropout Humayun Kabir’s Aam Janata Unnayan Party had stayed in alliance and further had seat alignments with the Left or Congress.

In Assam, thanks to the redistricting that restricted Muslim dominant seats to 22 against an earlier 35 out of a total of 26, the Congress and the Muslim-led AUDF got 20. Only in Keralam did the Muslim vote make a huge difference, with the United Democratic Front winning 38 of........

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