As Bihar's assembly elections approach, the Muslim voter holds the key to political fortunes in the state. But election season can be frightening for Muslims. Educationally and economically backward, typically, the confused and bewildered Muslim voter—usually a tailor, farm worker, mechanic or a rickshaw puller— looks up to the community’s leadership to guide him as he wonders which party to vote for. Not that his search for a political choice yields new results; often, the choice is already known. Nevertheless, he persists with an agonising exercise to pick a candidate.
This is also the season in which fortune tellers, especially journalists of a class at pains to explain that no Muslim vote bank exists, analyse the so-called ‘Muslim factor’. The argument runs as follows: about 17 per cent of Bihar’s voters are Muslim; in 70 of the state’s 243 Assembly constituencies, Muslim voters can play a crucial role. In reality, the Muslim voter is like Britannia’s 50-50 biscuit: sweet for some, salty for others; the chance that his candidate will win is 50-50, as a reverse consolidation of Hindu votes can defeat his choice. The Muslim voter, all the same, gets into the electoral considerations of Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad and other secularism-brandishing practitioners of Indian politics.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 7, 2015 من Open.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 7, 2015 من Open.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Can Therapy Break The Taboo Of Hypersexuality?
Can therapy break the taboo of hypersexuality?
Afghanistan: Waiting For A New Life
Ravaged by war, terror and bad politics, Afghanistan is waiting for a new life after the withdrawal of American troops.
Grand Opening Of Dance Bars, Are The Girls Excited?
Following a Supreme Court order, Mumbais dance bars are preparing for a grand opening. Are the girls equally excited?
Discovery Of Colonial India
Lord Hastings 1814 journey from Calcutta to Punjab with painter Sita Ram is a discovery of Colonial India through lives mundane and magical.
Imtiaz Ali: Auteur In Love
Imtiaz Ali's new film too is a celebration of desire and longing. The filmmaker in conversation with Divya Unny.
Athleisure, A Lifestyle Trend Of This Decade
As the defining lifestyle trend of this decade, athleisure has changed the way we dress, appear, move and feel.
Hate Wave In Communal India
Provocative clerics, frenzied mobs and the widening fault lines of communal India.
Delhi Government: Getting Even With The Odd Chief Minister
A righteous Kejriwal makes the governance of Delhi all about one man’s whims and paranoia.
India’s Cricket Prodigies: Who Will Stay Like Tendulkar?
India’s cricket prodigies today are luckier than their predecessors, but who will stay the distance like Tendulkar?
Dating Apps: A Sexual Revolution
As the dating app sets up office in India, its first ever outside the US, Lhendup G Bhutia signs on to see what the fuss is all about. He comes out unwanted.