- The Indian political landscape is deeply polarized along the lines of communal versus secular, has been done to death. Reams and reams have been written on the matter of the national parties and the regional parties siding with the two main protagonists viz. the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress. Of course, the Grand Old Party would wish to trade cautiously on the matter, attempting to play soft Hindutva whenever it suits to gain the electoral dividends. It’s another matter altogether that those efforts have yielded sweet little as regards electoral returns. On the other hand, the BJP has stopped playing with soft gloves by aggressively pushing ahead with the Hindutva agenda without ever appearing to target any community.
PC: Swarajya
- Nonetheless, the vituperative remarks and vitriolic attacks on the minority community keep hitting the headlines. People closely following the fortunes of the political occurrences in the country would have observed how often the right-wing Hindutva brigade assumes aggressive modes targeting the minority community. Most worryingly, any elected representative mouthing incendiaries tantamount to unnecessary rhetoric only results in further exacerbating the already fluid situation on the ground. The recent comments by a Bengal BJP leader are a new low that should be condemned in no uncertain terms. The moot point to ponder over here is, does it even help the party in polls. Not at all, it will only alienate the prospective voters.
PC: India Today
- As reported recently, Bengal leader of the opposition grandiosely mentioned that BJP would physically throw out Muslim MLAs from the House after the party forms the next government – in a speech he made inside the house – is jaw-dropping but grossly unwarranted. Miles away, his party colleague and a MLA in UP called for a separate hospital wing for Muslims in a proposed medical college in Ballia, which is almost equally terrible. Perhaps, the strategy behind such statements is to normalize anti-minority rhetoric. But the thing is, communal talk has an electoral cost. Bengal polls are in 2026. Bengal CM wasted no time accusing BJP of targeting Muslims during Ramzan to divert attention from economic and trade issues. Electoral brownie points, you see.
PC: Moneycontrol
- Recollect how anti-minority rhetoric flowed ahead of the 2024 LS elections. In Bengal, Trinamool won 29 seats with 46% vote share. BJP won 12, down from 18 (2019), with 39% vote share. In UP too, SP won 37 seats with 34% vote; BJP crashed to 33 from 62, with 42% of the vote. We must see whether and how the BJP central leadership addressed the two MLAs’ rhetoric. But electoral evidence suggests inflammatory chatter may be producing diminishing returns. The real danger of religion-based provocative statements from elected representatives is that they spur goon elements who’re ever ready to get violent. Also, it encourages parts of the executives in some states to maintain a low hum of harassment in the daily lives of those targeted. It’s sad indeed.
