These state elections could reshape national politics for 200 million Muslims.
For nearly 50 years, India’s West Bengal state was governed by opposition parties. First, by the communists and for the past 15 years, the centrist Trinamool Congress.
But on Monday, the governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to victory in the state assembly polls.
Critics say a controversial revision of the electoral roll, which stripped millions of people of their right to vote, helped secure its landslide win.
What does this mean for India’s democracy in the face of a dwindling opposition? And what message does it send to the country’s Muslim population?
Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom
Guests:
Shaina NC – National spokesperson for Shiv Sena, a conservative party in India
Javed Ansari – Political commentator and senior journalist
Yogendra Yadav – Civil society activist and cofounder of the Swaraj India political party