'Alia-Malia-Jamalia': Amit Shah takes poll-bound Gujarat back to 2002

Dog-whistle communal politics seems to be a key element to Amit Shah's success as an election manager. This was particularly evident in Uttar Pradesh, both in the run-up to the Assembly elections earlier this year as well as the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Shah now appears to be repeating the same strategy in his home state Gujarat. Addressing a meeting of party workers in Surat on Friday, Amit Shah said, "Ever since Narendra Modi formed a government, no Alia-Malia-Jamalia dared to carry out communal riots in Gujarat."

It is clear 'Alia-Malia-Jamalia' was a reference to Muslims.

This is not the first time that Shah has used this phrase. In November 2016 he used the same phrase while speaking at a rally in Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh.

"During the Sonia-Manmohan government of the Congress, Alia-Malia-Jamalia used to cross the border and insult our soldiers. Meanwhile, Delhi remained oblivious to it," he had said.

Here the phrase was used to refer to Pakistanis. This also shows that Shah uses the same derogatory phrase for Pakistanis and Indian Muslims, a comparison that is lapped up by the BJP's core support base.

Interestingly, Narendra Modi used this phrase frequently during the 2002 election campaign, which took place a few months after the anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat.

"Beginning with his warnings to the 'aliya-maliya-jamaliya; right from Modasa in Sabarkantha district to Dahod, by the end of Saturday, Modi had emphasised on the 'settling of scores' and celebrated the 'Hindu' as the ultimate hero," says a Times of India report from October 2002.

By most accounts, Modi led a highly polarising campaign and his target wasn't just the Muslim community, it also involved invoking the Christian identity of the then Chief Election Commissioner JM Lyngdoh.

Shah's speech in Surat was no different as he constantly invoked communal insecurities.

He said that when Congress was in power in Gujarat, riots were taking place everywhere.

"If you had to take out a Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad, your heart would be in your mouth," he said.

"I am from Ahmedabad. We had to call to find out if it was safe to come out," he emphasised.

That he chose to raise the communal spectre in Surat is not surprising as it is a city that has witnessed the most intense protests by traders after the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) last week.

There is resentment among traders against the BJP and observers say that playing the communal card might be the only method to divert their anger.