It is a contradiction hard to fathom. Never before have there been such widespread protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he is currently facing over the twin issues of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens. Yet political pundits say the ferment in the street will boost, even further, his and the Bharatiya Janata Party's popularity. Their claims would take the form of unchangeable truth should the BJP emerge victorious in the Jharkhand Assembly elections, the results of which will be announced today.

Modi did indeed press the CAA-NRC pedal to polarise Jharkhand. He dared the Congress and its allies to grant citizenship to all Pakistani citizens; he said those protesting against the CAA can be identified by their clothes and accused "urban Naxals, people who claim to be intellectuals" of instigating them to take to the streets. Modi will have people believe that Opposition parties and intellectuals are opposing the CAA-NRC because they wish Pakistan and Muslims to benefit at the expense of Hindus, whose interests only he protects.