A little commonsense thing that has always eluded our political commentators. There is a Hindu votebase in EVERY single state, from TN to J&K, from Gujarat to Manipur. Is it sufficient to give victory on its own to a party? Often no. But it is a sufficient base to build on.
This is what BJP has done. They have taken over the Hindu base in every state [which comes to 10-20% of the vote] and on this base, they have built up their other voters. Every single party has only ~10-20% core vote only. Rest are all attracted by benefits. So, they rule now.
In the past, there were regional parties [TDP in Telangana, AGP in Assam, JD in Karnataka, etc] that took the Hindu vote, but systematically, BJP wiped them out, making themselves the sole beneficiaries of Hindu vote. This gives them a greater advantage than minority vote often.
Commentators all blabber about how the BJP starts with 0 while its opponents start with 10-20% minority vote. But it escapes them that BJP also starts with a 10-20% Hindu vote in every state, on which the BJP fortunes are built.
Only in places where the BJP has not been able to gather the Hindu vote due to strong local parties [AIADMK in TN, TDP in Andhra, CPM in Malabar, etc] is the BJP weak. But their time is also coming. BJP will wipe them out and take their Hindu vote in the next 10 years.
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