Aaker Patel : What kind of BJP would Advani leave behind?

Of 1.1 billion Indians, 13 per cent are Muslim. Effectively, the BJP is competing on 87 per cent of the vote instead of 100 per cent. But why does it not have the Muslim vote?

The BJP is one of two ideological parties in India (the other is the Communist Party through its various factions). The BJP's ideology is Hindutva. What does Hindutva mean? The BJP has three demands under its Hindutva agenda. The first: building a temple in Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid existed, and which is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram, an avtar (incarnation) of one of Hinduism's three primary gods: Vishnu.

The BJP's second demand is that India should have a secular civil code. Right now, India's civil laws governing marriage, divorce and inheritance are applied by religion. Hindus are governed by a Hindu law; Muslims are governed under sharia (with polygamy, triple talaq and Hanafi alimony law). L K Advani calls this pseudo-secularism.

The BJP's third demand is the deletion of Article 370 in the Indian constitution. This guarantees Jammu and Kashmir separate status in the Indian Union, and more autonomy. Though this status has been greatly eroded over the years, among other things, Indians cannot buy land there. The BJP says its Hindutva is nationalist, not anti-Muslim.