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Maharashtra polls : Back to Hindutva |
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Is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) all set to go back to its original agenda? Political experts believe that the party along with its major ally Shiv Sena is reviving a hardline Hindutva (Hindu activism) agenda to contest assembly elections in Maharashtra. Elections in Maharashtra are due in October.
Though, officially the party claims that it would stick to the development agenda but inside sources reveal otherwise. Recent developments clearly indicate the party’s objective. The way the party dramatised former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Uma Bharati’s arrest, the politicisation of the national flag and the removal of a plaque of Hindutva icon Vinayak “Veer” Savarkar from a memorial in Port Blair leave no doubt.
Since the defeat of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the elections held early this year, the party is divided over the issue of going back to hardcore Hindutva policy. Its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has been urging the party to embrace Hindutva again - as it did in the 1980s and 1990s. The Shiv Sena too feels the same way. “We are happy that BJP has finally understood the need to keep its original vote bank intact. If we succeed in consolidating the Hindu votes, we will definitely win the elections,” a Shiv Sena member of the Lok Sabha said.
Earlier when BJP held power at the Centre, it was under pressure from its allies not to indulge in communal politics. But now the party is free to do whatever it wants and need not project itself a secular party. BJP’s poll strategist Pramod Mahajan’s is already accused the Congress of appeasing Muslims.
The BJP and Shiv Sena are also joined up against the ban on the singing of devotional songs in trains. Hundreds of Shiv Sainiks joined groups singing “bhajans” (devotional songs) in defiance of a drive launched by railway authorities in Mumbai. The BJP has already vowed to launch a nationwide campaign centred round the national flag following Uma Bharti’s arrest - who was linked to a 1994 case of rioting that erupted after she forcibly hoisted the tricolour on a ground in Karnataka’s Hubli town. Bharti’s arrest is being used as a weapon to target Congress President Sonia Gandhi - and pit the “nationalist” against the “foreigner”.
Incidentally, the BJP which has decided not to reinstate Ms Uma Bharti as the Madhya Pradesh chief minister, intends to use her for the Maharashtra Assembly polls. Despite pressure from Ms Bharti’s supporters, the BJP brass decided against reinstating her. It was argued that if Ms Bharti returned as Chief Minister after she was cleared by the court, the BJP’s National Flag movement would “lose its sting.”
Observers note the Maharashtra elections are very crucial for the Congress as it would judge the popularity of the Congress led UPA govt at the Centre. It is equally significant for the BJP as they would determine the future course of the party. If the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance manage to perform well, the BJP could play the communal card for elections elsewhere in future.
Meanwhile, after the talks on seat-sharing talks in the Assembly elections top leaders of the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) felt that they should also contest the seats where they had come second in 1999. While the Congress won 73 seats and was the runner-up in 74, the NCP bagged 58 seats and came second in 60. If the view is agreed upon the Congress would contest 147 of the 288 seats and the NCP 118. The balance 23 seats would be contested by the allies.
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