Rahul Gandhi’s promise of a “financial and institutional survey” to find out who held how much of the “country’s wealth” is another instance of “Muslim appeasement” that Modi snapped up. The Muslim “minority” has the Congress party’s back even as Modi is moving ahead and helping himself to the bulk of Hindu votes. Is Modi nervous about the way things are for the BJP?

After three days of Modi making hay on Muslim-baiting, inviting charges of "hate speech", is the BJP still not confident about how it had fared in the first phase of polling? The first phase saw 60 percent voting. The 2019 percentage was 65. Who gained and who lost from the truncated turnout? The Congress-led opposition would like to think the voter dumped the BJP and the ruling party will lose.

But a fairly educated guess is the BJP will come within grasping distance of Modi’s “370” target. The BJP/RSS have it all planned out. Women voted in large numbers for the BJP in the first phase is one assessment, which insists Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the clear favourite of women voters. Besides, 60 percent voting is not too bad to begin with.

Also, BJP’s Hindu vote-bank does not think Modi “spewed hate”. On the contrary, for them, Modi couldn’t have spoken more aptly. It is almost certain, the Election Commission of India will not haul up Modi for "hate speech". It is like Modi's speech left the poll panel speechless. The Prime Minister was only responding to Rahul Gandhi’s Muslim appeasement, goes the argument. A brave attempt to lodge a police case against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a Delhi police station was gently defused.

That said, Modi’s “hate speech” is the talk of India and the BJP is loving it, fanning the controversy for all its worth; the target audience "Hindus everywhere". Prime Minister Modi pinned the Muslim vote-bank to the Congress lapel and it is working fine for the Hindutva-heavy BJP.

Hindu-Muslim polarization is at its peak after Modi’s all-out indiscriminate attack on "those who have more children". Point to note is, Modi finally gave up on Muslims. They’ll take all his welfare schemes but will never vote for the BJP, that has been established and labelling Muslims “infiltrators” and “those with more children” is Modi’s way of telling Hindus they alone are his vote-bank.

So, Rahul Gandhi has the Muslim vote-bank, and Modi the ever-burgeoning Hindu vote-bank. In Tonk, Rajasthan, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he will ensure reservations for SC/ST/OBC but that he will never extend reservations on religious lines to the Muslims. There cannot be a clearer dog-whistle to Hindus and it sets the BJP apart from the Congress.

With that Modi closed the door on any rapprochement with the Muslim community. His differences with the community are now fully out in the open. On Tuesday, Modi taunted Rahul Gandhi for saying the Congress will “X-ray” to detect wealth for redistribution among minorities and the SC/ST. Someday the Congress will come to power and Rahul Gandhi will become Prime Minister. And then, the “financial and institutional survey” to ensure Muslims got their slice of the “country’s wealth” on which they have first claim.

It will not happen after this election. But Rahul Gandhi "is young" and has a long political career left, and Rahul has also promised to “get revolutionary” after the “financial and institutional survey”. Rahul Gandhi’s video has gone viral. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s video has gone viral and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video has gone viral. (IPA Service)