Be it Syed Shahabuddin, Abdul Ghafoor or Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari, there have been several instances when Muslim political class criticised secular forces to join hands with parties that damaged the interest of the community.

Unlike 2014 and 2019, there is no strong sentiment for the BJP this time around. Those who are categorical in predicting the poll outcome in BJP's favour may end up making another mistake as committed by many political pundits in 2004.

Despite the BJP claiming that it is set to cross the 400-mark in the parliamentary polls, repeated trips of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tamil Nadu and Kerala recently indicate that the saffron party want to bag a handful of seats in the southern states to offset the likely loss it may suffer in other states.

The entry of Kalpana Soren, Hemant's wife, into politics has added an emotional twist to the situation. Similarly, Lalu handed over the state’s baton to his wife, Rabri. Now with Kejriwal's wife, does the BJP have a contingency plan to deal with the situation in Delhi like it did in Jharkhand?

Here is why, as far as the CAA is concerned in Assam, the BJP is caught in a bind.

The reason why the BJP dumped Chirag Paswan's uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras is simple: it did not want Chirag – whose name can be translated as lamp or light – to cross over to the INDIA bloc. But its need for either Paras or Chirag raises questions about its strength.

After the PM's inauguration of the Ram temple, TV channels and newspapers in Bihar were filled with stories on how millions of devotees from the state would travel to Ayodhya. In contrast, a flood of people can now be seen lining up to see the 34-year old RJD leader is going during his Yatra.

Attempts to communalise the tragic accident failed. There is reason to believe that a majority of Indian masses do not harbour hatred for people of other religions.

Some experts have said that Prime Minister Modi has a fair chance to return to power in 2024. However, they failed to address that the NDA lost all the oldest allies – Shiv Sena, SAD and JD(U), and therefore, itself lacks unity.

The BJP has paid a price for banking too much on the one dominant community, the Lingayats. This is very much against the party’s decade-long game plan, adopted elsewhere in India.

In areas where Christians are in a minority, they are less threatened by Hindutva politics. But the recent events in Manipur may come as a reminder that they too can come under attack.

The rise of BJP under Narendra Modi as a dominant political force is credited to welfarism and not just Hindutva. However, many governments in the past were voted out of power despite introducing a slew of welfare measures. That is why it is premature to write off the Opposition even before the 2024 poll bugle is sounded.

Unlike in North India, religion-based conquests or ideologies were not seen largely in South India. This characteristic of the South makes it difficult for the hardline Hindutva of the North to spread in the region.

Neither the Vijayanagara Empire nor the Bahmani Sultanate in South India, which also flourished in the medieval period, get the same signficance as kingdoms in Delhi and other northern regions.

Bihar Sharif and Sasaram, where communal disturbances were reported, have a sizeable population of Koeris, Kurmis and Yadavs – the political mainstay of the present establishment in Bihar. The BJP wants to break the Grand Alliance's hold on these communities.

The developments after the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi have the potential to bring about a swift change in the scenario. The mood of the voters can be gauged only when the battle lines are drawn, not when society is dormant.

While Lalu's daughters, who are not involved in politics, have come under the scanner of investigating agencies, only his elder son has been untouched. Political observers in Bihar don't see this as a mere chance happening.

By pointing fingers at Bihar chief minister, the disgruntled JD(U) leader is drawing attention to his own track record of shifting political loyalties at convenience.

The RSS chief recently advised Indian Muslims to abandon their "boisterous rhetoric of supremacy" – but all indicators suggest that the minority community lags behind the majority.

The BJP had strongly defended Nitish when he had introduced the liquor prohibition policy in 2015, even though it was in the Opposition then. However, now, the same policy is being criticised by the party.