Over the past decade, the BJP has been fighting tooth and nail to make inroads in southern politics. The Congress, meanwhile, has pushed the narrative of an “iron wall” between the north and south.    

The grand old party has a stronger grassroot presence and nuanced pitch, while the BJP’s approach in the region is decentralised, with “voices from the ground being heard” from each constituency. The saffron party’s electoral pitch, however, is cultural and focused on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But is Ram mandir an electoral issue in the south?       

In Bengaluru, Manisha Pande and Pooja Prasanna speak to author Sugata Srinivasaraju, senior journalist Maya Sharma and BJP spokesperson Surabhi Hodigere on the politics of north and south, the strategies of the two prominent national parties, and the BJP’s accommodative politics in the south. 

Watch.