Ramraksha: Ram-ifying the Society and Modi-fying the State 171popularity in the local elections. The Janata Dal and the Congress were nowhere in
the picture. See "BJP's Success" (editorial), Indian Express, 29 November 1995. Of
course, it is also true that individuals rather than their parties matter more in the
local elections, and that there is little in common between voter behavior during
local elections and during larger state assembly and national parliamentary elec-
tions. See Dilip Awasthi, "Why the BJP Scored," India Today, 31 December 1995.
- "BJP's Battle" (editorial), Indian Express, 4 January 1996.
- Paul R. Brass, "The Rise of the BJP and the Future of Party Politics in Uttar
Pradesh," in India Votes: Alliance Politics and Minority Governments in the Ninth and
Tenth General Elections, ed. Harold A. Gould and Sumit Ganguly (Boulder, Colo.:
Westview Press, 1993), p. 276. - Shahnaz Anklesaria Aiyar, "A Scorching Campaign," India Today, 31 May
- Malik, "Three Riots in Varanasi," pp. 55-56.