At a rally by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the narrow lanes near Kurla’s Bharat Cinema for BJP’s North Central candidate Ujjwal Nikam, politicians rarely spoke of development, employment, or empowerment. Instead, the speeches were dominated by mentions of Pakistan, terrorism, and the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

This resonated with the attendees, some of whom were local residents and many of whom were party cadres or belonged to “Sangh Parivar” outfits like RSS or Bajrang Dal. The crowd cheered at every mention of the mandir and clapped at every attack against the opposition for their role in the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks in the city. Nikam, who was the public prosecutor for the trial of Ajmal Kasab, stated, “People need to remember that Congress said some police officer killed Hemant Karkare and not Kasab.”