How Muslims defeated Hindus in the voting rate in India!

Pic. Credit. PTI.

Muslims defeated Hindus in voting rate resulting in decrease in the numbers of seats of BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha Election. 

Upendra Bharti | HENB | New Delhi | June 11, 2024::In the 2024 Lok Sabha Election, the BJP saw a decrease in seats compared to the previous election, largely due to a higher voter turnout among Muslims compared to Hindus. Despite an overall lower voter turnout nationwide, Muslims surpassed Hindus in voter participation. A survey conducted by a non-governmental organization revealed that while Hindus averaged a 60% voting rate, Muslims had an average of around 95% turnout in the recent elections.

This significant difference in voting rates posed a challenge for the BJP in securing seats. While the ‘Hindutva’ party had won 303 seats independently in 2019, they managed to secure only 240 seats this time, facing rejection from a considerable portion of the Muslim electorate. Consequently, Muslim voters largely supported the Congress and I.N.D.I Alliance.

The survey indicated that Muslim voters had a 35% higher voting rate compared to Hindus, with specific examples from states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. For instance, in Maharashtra, nearly 94% of Muslim voters participated in contrast to only 57% of Hindus. Similar patterns were observed in other states, highlighting a significant discrepancy in voting engagement between the two communities. In other words, in states like Maharashtra, 43 percent Hindu voters abstained from voting.

The same picture has been observed in Rajasthan. Even though 94.62 percent of Muslims voted there, only 60.04 percent of Hindu voters voted. In West Bengal, 95.45 percent Muslim voters exercised their democratic rights, but only 62.41 percent Hindu took part in voting. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh, 92.38 percent of the total Muslim voters voted, but only 61.07 percent of Hindus voted there. According to the source, this situation has been seen more or less all over India. As soon as this survey report came out, the question arose in the political circles, whether the low voting rate of Hindus had affected the result of the BJP?

The lower voter turnout among Hindus, averaging around 40% abstention, compared to only 6% among Muslims, raised questions about the impact on BJP’s electoral performance. Some experts attributed this disparity to apathy among Hindu voters towards the political process, despite efforts by the Election Commission to raise awareness and promote voting. According to the commission data, the total voter turnout this time was 66.30 percent (67.40% in 2019). In comparison, voter turnout was disappointing in major states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Experts think that the reason for this is the terrible heat wave or indifference about the voting rights in the minds of a majority of voters.

Despite higher literacy rates among Hindus, Muslims demonstrated a greater awareness of their voting rights, resulting in higher turnout. This disparity underscores a crucial aspect of democracy where active participation can shape electoral outcomes in the ‘Biggest Festival of Democracy’. Muslims go to the polling station to ensure their right to vote. But the majority of Hindus avoid voting as it is not so important. Peculiarly,  Hindus don’t understand how useful even a single vote is to obtain any democratic rights in this biggest democracy in the world!

The demographic shift, with Muslims forming a significant portion of the population and exhibiting higher voter turnout, poses a challenge for Hindus in maintaining electoral influence. However, many Hindus have yet to grasp the significance of their vote in the democratic process, highlighting a need for greater awareness and engagement among the community.

Experts attributed the low Hindu voter turnout to apathy towards politics and the electoral process, posing a challenge to BJP’s electoral prospects. This trend underscored a higher awareness of voting rights among Muslims despite higher literacy rates among Hindus. The growing Muslim population and their active participation in voting pose significant challenges to maintaining Hindu electoral influence in India’s democratic landscape.

Point to be noted here, in India, out of total population, 78% are Hindus, 2 % and Sikh-Jain-Buddhist-Parsis (roughly 80%) and  Christians are 3% and Muslims are 17%.
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