“I Think…”: Prime Minister Modi’s View On Whether Muslim Voters Will Support Him In The 2024 Lok Sabha Elections

In an exclusive interview with News18 on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his belief that the Indian people would elect him to a third consecutive term in office. The topic concerned whether Muslim voters would support him in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Speaking from his Varanasi constituency’s banks, Prime Minister Modi also emphasized that his governance model does not discriminate based on caste or religion, emphasized that he spent his childhood celebrating Eid with his neighbors, and added that attempts were made to damage his reputation after 2002. These statements were made in the midst of a heated discussion over religious polarization in the ongoing seven-phase national elections.

“As a youngster, I lived among Muslim households. I’m friends with a lot of Muslims. There were attempts to damage my reputation after 2002, PM Modi said.

“Our neighborhood used to be home to Muslim families. We used to get our meals from the Muslim neighbors’ homes on Eid instead of cooking them in my place. We were instructed to go under the taziya on Muharram, he said.

The prime minister said that he conducted a poll to find out the ground realities after his reputation was damaged in 2002. “Manek Chowk is a popular spot in Ahmedabad where people go for dinner in the evening. But during the day, every customer is Hindu and every businessman is Muslim. I sent several people to the market to do a poll. The shopkeeper intervened when one of them started criticizing me, telling him not to say anything negative about Modi. Modi is the reason my children are attending school. Nearly 90% of store owners expressed similar thoughts, according to PM Modi.

He related another story in which he said a lady had complimented him from the mostly Muslim district of Juhapura. “She gave me credit for my efforts in having power installed in every home. I asked, “How’s it going? I cut connections.” He remarked, “It’s good because there was a time when people would steal electricity from the government and demand payment to give us connections.”

The Prime Minister said that many such incidents have occurred in his life, but he keeps this information to himself. “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” is my motto. I’m not employed with Vote Bank. The PM said, “I’ll say something is wrong if it is.”

I’m astonished, the Prime Minister stated in response to a question about why he criticized Muslims for “having more children.” When I speak about people having too many children, why do people think I’m talking about Muslims? This problem also affects low-income Hindu households. They are unable to provide their children with a suitable education. I have not mentioned any Muslims or Hindus. I’ve merely appealed to you to take care of as many children as you can.

In response to the question of whether Muslims will support him in this election, Prime Minister Modi said, “I think the people of this country will support me.” I won’t be able to live in public life the day I convert to Hinduism. I swear not to participate in the Hindu-Muslim conflict.