Muslims voting against the BJP is no surprise. The effectiveness of their participation in the decimate-the-saffron-surge in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and to some extent Maharashtra, without bringing passions into the campaign, yielded handsome dividends ..

In a rare show of maturity and unity of purpose for the first time in the decade, they poured out their vengeance in a cold, calculated manner and voted tactically to defeat the BJP candidates. That is the picture emerging according to the voting patterns in some of the larger states. They did not allow their votes to be split due to multiple secular choices ... In a ... subtle exercise, the Khadimane Mulko Millat (KMM) in Karnataka mobilised support for the potent challengers against the BJP ... According to KMM secretary Masood Abdul Khader in Bangalore, 125 of the 197 candidates for the Karnataka assembly and 17 of the 28 Lok Sabha candidates from secular parties, mostly from Congress(I), identified by the outfit scored victories ...

Kalyan Singh himself acknowledged that the Muslims' pattern of voting had contributed to the BJP's reverses ... "The minority community supported only those candidates whom it considered could defeat the BJP.

Muslims did not vote en block for any party as such. Their strategy differed from constituency to constituency." It was this strategic 'shift' in the voting that had not only ensured that BJP's defeat in several Muslim-dominated constituencies, but also made it possible for the SP, the BSP and the Congress to post notable victories ...

Significantly, the exercise was backed by elaborate research and the community ensured that the winnable candidate, in the first instance, enjoyed solid support from a sizeable section of the Hindus ...

.. (It is) clear that the Muslims have emerged out of the stupor and are putting their resources to best use. They neither want to be intimidated into voting for the communal forces nor are they in the mood to allow those who encouraged the communalists through their indifference. 'Judge the candidates and the parties by their word and deeds' seems to be the winning mantra. (Source: The Meantime, 21 October, 1999)