(The Political Line newsletter is India’s political landscape explained every week by Varghese K. George, senior editor at The Hindu. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox every Friday.)
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal is trying to expand his influence into other regions, and as part of the outreach he is wearing his piety on his sleeves, yet again. His specific focus is on Lord Ram, this season. He visited Ayodhya and announced plans to promote pilgrimage to the Ram Temple that is coming up at the site where the Babri Masjid stood until 1992.
Arvind Kejriwal in Ayodhya.
On Deepavali, he will be holding a puja in the national capital , with the entire Delhi cabinet in tow, which will be live-streamed. A radio ad in Delhi has the CM talking about seeking Lord Ram’s blessing for the city. “..We will welcome Lord Ram together – but we will not burst firecrackers, we will not cause pollution…All 2 crore of us Delhiites will perform Diwali Puja together at 7 p.m. Please join me in the puja from your homes... May our Delhi forever enjoy Lord Ram’s benevolence,” Mr. Kejriwal says before ending his monologue with a “Jai Shri Ram” chant. The Delhi Government is also building a replica of the Ram Mandir — the one under construction in Ayodhya — at the Thyagaraj Stadium Complex as part of its ‘Dilli ki Diwali’ celebrations.
Replica politics that plays to the Hindu gallery is not the exclusive preserve of Mr. Kejriwal. Another strident anti-Narendra Modi politician, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also on a similar track. Visits to three temples is part of her foray into Goa this week.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican. The Catholic population in election-going Goa might take note of that.
Bangla divisions
The minority Hindu population is coming under attack by Islamic fundamentalists in Bangladesh. Nearly a third of Bangladesh, 29%, was Hindu in 1947, now they constitute only 10%, or around 1.7 crore. Experts who study the exodus of Hindus estimate that 600 -700 Hindus leave the country for India every day, and in the coming decades, the country will be emptied of the Hindus.
Bangladeshi Hindus stage a demonstration in Dhaka on October 18, 2021 to protest against the fresh religious violence against Hindus in the country.
The BJP’s citizenship politics, built on the CAA -NPR —NRC triad takes into account this emerging situation, and the party sees an opportunity for its own growth in it . The incoming Hindus from Bangladesh could change the demographic composition of West Bengal and northeastern States, particularly Assam. The BJP is raising the attack against Hindus in Bangladesh in Assembly by-polls in West Bengal this week. The issue was raised during the Assembly election also, earlier this year.
This week, some Assamese nationalists were also calling for the separation of the Bengali speaking Barak Valley from Assam into another State, following tensions between the two linguistic communities.
Meanwhile, the Centre is preparing to restart work on the National Population Register (NPR), which will require residents to declare information that determines their citizenship. The 14 parameters that will be canvassed include mother tongue, place of birth of parents and last place of residence. The NPR and Census operations were stalled due to the pandemic, and there is still no word on when they could start.
Transnational loyalties
Those who celebrated the victory of Pakistan against India in a T-20 World Cup match are facing the brunt of the state, in many States. According to a J&K official, transnational loyalties would not be tolerated.
Another story of transnational loyalty emerged of a young man from Haryana, who fought with Sikh agitators in Sydney getting Indian government help. The man thinks it was his duty to defend India from separatists - all in a foreign land!
Prashant Kishor on Congress strategy of inaction
Election strategist Prashant Kishor put the finger on what ails the Congress . "That is where the problem lies with Rahul Gandhi. Probably, he thinks it's just a matter of time that people will throw Mr. Modi away. That's not happening," the political strategist said.
Prashant Kishor. File
In the past, whenever the Congress lost power, it returned after a hiatus and without any particular strategy or hard work. Its opponents showed themselves as incapable, undeserving or both. Rahul Gandhi, and the Congress ecosystem in general tend to think that this cyclical process will repeat. The BJP is failing, and people are suffering. People will return to the Congress once they can no longer tolerate the BJP, in this view. What this view fails to appreciate is the fact of structural changes that have taken place in the country. The BJP is today a hegemon that controls the levers of power and information. The wait for it to collapse under its own weight could be long. And as Mr. Kishor said, even if it loses an election, the BJP will still retain the pole position of Indian politics for a long time to come.
It is a different matter that Mr. Kishor and the Congress had a recent falling out , after coming closer.
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