Three days after proclaiming that he would “not do Hindu-Muslim,” Narendra Modi returned to his divisive, inflammatory rhetoric during a public meeting at Barabanki on 17 May. The prime minister warned voters that a Congress and Samajwadi Party alliance would bulldoze the Ram Temple, and suggested that they “take tuition” from the Uttar Pradesh chief minister on “where to run bulldozers.” While the Congress flagged Modi’s comments to the Election Commission of India, it did so for “saying such things about the temple of god”—not for the unambiguous dog whistles about destroying Muslim homes. It is imperative to ask the opposition why it has shied away from addressing “bulldozer politics” in its campaign. Our research on demolitions in Uttar Pradesh, as well as previous studies and reports on the topic, have all shown that the Adityanath regime’s flagship policy of punitive destructions primarily targets the Muslim community. The opposition’s failure…

---