That the Prime Minister had to change tack midstream says something, but what something? General election 2019 had not seen a squeak out of the Prime Minister. No fear, no apprehension. There wasn’t talk of “Muslim quota” nor of “those who make more babies”. This time, however, after the first phase of polling was behind him, Modi wilted. His allegations of Congress planning to shift OBC quota to Muslims is indication he’s not sure of himself.

Latest is, the Prime Minister has written a personal letter to BJP candidates for the third phase to make sure the Congress plan for “Muslim quota at the expense of the OBC quota” reaches each and every voter. Is it desperation? Is there Muslim consolidation at a scale the BJP hadn’t expected? Was the low turnout in the first two phases a measure of the overconfident Bharatiya Janata Party losing the plot?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “tirade against the Congress” cannot be underestimated. Modi appears forced to keep repeating, reminding Hindu voters that they faced a clear and present danger from the “Muslim-loving Congress” and that only Modi can thwart the Congress plan for “Muslim quota at the expense of the OBC quota”. Modi has been reminding Hindu voters at every stump stop he makes that the Constitution of India does not allow reservations on religious grounds and that only if he gets a “third term as Prime Minister” can the threat from the Congress be thwarted.

Modi also talks a great deal about celebrating 75 years of the Constitution of India in a grand style during his third term. Have allegations of “BJP doing away with SC/ST reservations” unnerved Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than they should have? The Prime Minister’s letter to potential BJP MPs is pretty straightforward. "The entire ecosystem and coterie of the Congress should listen to this. As long as Modi is alive, he will not let the SC, ST, and OBC reservations be snatched away and given to Muslims. I am announcing this from the soil of Telangana. In my third term, I will go door-to-door and tell people what the Congress' royal family has done to the Constitution."

The dog-whistle is to the majority community. The Hindus who are "khatre mei hain because of the Congress.” And Modi must get a third term to stop the “frustrated Congress” and ensure that the Congress gets the "lowest seats in its history''.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be forgiven for giving people the notion that a third term for Narendra Modi could be difficult. Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi swearing on the Constitution of India is a new one. When was the last time Modi said the Constitution of India “is a holy book for me”? And what happened to “Pasmanda”, “Bohra” and “Sufi”? They have disappeared from Modi’s lexicon.

And it is not news that PM Modi busted many quotas to appease Pasmanda Muslims. But suddenly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Bharatiya Janata Party, are all concerned for the Hindu. The “fake video on reservation” is bothering Modi as is the “inheritance tax if the Congress is elected by mistake”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasn’t stopped scaring the majority community with “whatever you earned in your lifetime to be passed on to your progeny, Congress wants to take away 55% of it” ever since Rahul Gandhi spoke of “X-ray”.

Of course, the Nehru-Gandhi people are all anti-Hindu. “This prince’s great-grandfather Nehru did not allow pictures of Ramayana that were part of the original document of the Constitution to be there. His grandmother imposed Emergency and his father Rajiv Gandhi wanted to come up with an autocratic bill against the media in violation of the Constitution. The entire media and the opposition had come onto the streets.”

All the anti-Congress talk must be to ensure “abki baar 400 paar” or Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a keen nose for defeat, and has panicked. Otherwise, why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi talking of “When I entered Parliament for the first time in 2014, I touched its portal before entering out of respect for the Constitution. After entering Parliament for the second time, I brought with me a copy of the Constitution into the Central Hall and bowed before it like we do before Bhagavad Gita or anyone before Bible or Quran.”

What is making Modi say such innuendos before a possible third term? Like “Ram Mandir was not built because of Modi. Every vote you gave to make the government strong made it possible.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal letter to BJP’s phase-3 candidates questions the Congress party’s “divisive and discriminatory intentions” and “dangerous ideas”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal letter to BJP’s MP candidates for the third phase must be a sign of Modi's election-winning determination or Modi has been forced to amplify Hindu and Muslim to ensure polarization and secure a third term. Modi's insecurities are lurking in the rafters. Modi appears to need constant assurance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been condemning the Congress for religion-based reservation in Karnataka. BJP MPs of Karnataka have rallied behind Modi forcing the Congress to double down on “Muslim quota” in a state where the BJP had done extremely well in 2019, but faces problems in 2024.

Modi has vowed to stop the Congress from “changing the Constitution” to allocate OBC quota to Muslims. The Congress party’s minority agenda isn’t unknown to the electorate and the Muslim minority wholeheartedly welcomes the Congress move. Polarization works for both sides. This late in the run-up to Election Day it does not matter how and why the votes are getting divided. Every time the Prime Minister accuses the Congress of conspiring to bring in “religion-based reservation”, the Prime Minister is alluding to Muslim vote-bank politics, which is a lightning rod for both communities and both parties. (IPA Service)