Midway through the UP assembly elections, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the kabristan-shamshaan statement, it was seen as an attempt to polarise voters by highlighting minority appeasement and “bhedbhav” (discrimination) by the Akhilesh Yadav government. Modi, who had been talking of development until then, had suddenly changed tack and introduced religion into his campaign pitch. This is widely believed to have been done at the behest of his party chief Amit Shah, who is said to have convinced Modi about the possible dividends.
The PM’s statement was made at a rally in Fatehpur on February 19, when votes for the third phase were being polled. It became a talking point for days to come as leaders of other parties kept raking it up. “The more the other parties talked about it, the more the atmosphere got polarised, benefiting the BJP. It was a masterstroke by Amit Shah,” says a senior party leader.
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