Paper long abstract:

Since 2002 Gujarat violence, one of the worst in Indian history, there has been a global perception about Narender Modi's complicity in the violence against Muslims. This perception has encouraged USA to deny him a Visa, though both UK and European Union (EU) have started re-engaging with Narendra Modi. But, the perception that he was involved in human rights violation is deep rooted both inside and outside India. In this context, the paper seeks to examine how the Muslim politics and Muslim voting behaviour is impacted owing to the rise of Narendra Modi as NDA's Prime Ministerial candidate in 2014. The paper raises following questions:

1) While there are dozens of major ethnic violence against Muslims prior to Gujarat 2002 and Muslims have been its major victims, what is so unique about 2002 riot that makes Gujarat Chief Minister Narender Modi such a controversial figure?

2) If Hindutva is all about Hindus and Ram Rajya, why are the BJP and Modi keen to devise special strategies to reach out to Muslim voters?

3) What are the programs and activities that the BJP and Modi have taken so far to win over Muslim voters and what has been the Muslim response to their efforts ?

4) What are the key trends that we witness in the Muslim voting behaviour in the context of Modi and Hindutva? And, what are its implications for secularism/multi- culturalism and India's coalition politics?