.. The real question is whether the common Muslims will be convinced by what the BJP has started saying. So far, there has been no convincing evidence. In UP, the overwhelming majority of Muslims will vote for Mulayam Singh's party. In Bihar, the Muslims still seem to be with Laloo Yadav and his allies ... In Gujarat, they have suffered so much in communal violence that the BJP cannot convince them of any real change in its attitude. They will go along with the Congress-RJP alliance. In Karnataka, the Muslims will support the JD and a section might vote for the Congress ...

In AP, the Muslims are still with Chief Minister  Naidu and the BJP has not been able to attract them. In Tamil Nadu, they will go along with DMK-TMC alliance which seems to be the best bet for them. The recent riots in Coimbatore and the role of the Hindu Munnani have further alienated them from the Sangh Parivar ... The Hindu Munnani is seen to be part of the Sangh Parivar. In Kerala, there is no question of the BJP attracting the Muslims as they go along with the Muslim League and its allies. In Maharashtra, a small section of the Muslims might vote for the Sena-BJP alliance but a large majority will swear by the ... Congress-SP alliance ... In Madhya Pradesh, despite Aslam Sher Khan joining the BJP, the Muslims do not] seem to be enthused. Thus, in the entire Hindi belt, where the Muslim vote matters much, there is no palpable change in the voting trend. In the south, too, the BJP can hardly appeal to the Muslim voters. Why then all this exercise to woo the Muslims as the Congress has been doing? Perhaps, it is the first step the BJP has taken and it has to go a long way to convince the Muslims. (Source: The Hindu, 31 January, 1998)