(This is the latest edition of the Political Line newsletter curated by Varghese K. George. The Political Line newsletter is India’s political landscape explained every week. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox.)
In a recent discussion on the ongoing Assembly elections in five States, psephologist Yashwant Deshmukh used a metaphor for the core votes the BJP can draw on the strength of its organisation alone — the ‘pizza base’. It is a term of choice for several writers while explaining various things — the base, and then the toppings, which can be varied and customised for different situations.
This reference got me thinking along an adjacent question — what might be the equivalent of the ‘pizza base’ for Indian politics? There is one: pampering of Hindu identity and a welfare hamper; essentials for any politics in India. This combo forms the base on which political parties add toppings such as leadership, organisational muscle, money power, and state power.
The ‘pizza base’ analogy suggests that there is a common ground that parties share. The Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) — three main contenders for power in these elections — have generously deployed Hindu symbolism in their campaigns. All of them try to outcompete opponents by embellishing their welfare hampers. But there is a significant divergence on the question of Muslims and other religious minorities. While the BJP is hostile towards minorities and drums up its Hindu credentials, the Congress and the BRS count them in as part of their political calculations. Non-BJP parties are trying to tell voters that they are no less Hindu, but try to achieve this by not othering Muslims. It is also notable that they don’t woo the minority community like they used to, and have adopted a passive approach towards the Muslim electorate.
The BJP adds a ton of toppings on the base: its aggressive othering of Muslims, which other parties cannot do, and the enduring popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. All these add-ons make the BJP pizza loaded. However, one can’t really fit into this metaphor the central investigative agencies, which are brazenly partisan, and the Election Commission, which is active on complaints filed by the BJP but looks the other way when the Opposition raises a concern.
Regional parties have their regionalism, and caste parties have their caste identities for toppings. The Congress though has an apparent toppings issue. Rahul Gandhi has significantly ramped up his popularity, but the taste of the heartland electorate might be far too addicted to the toppings that the BJP doles out. Mr. Gandhi is offering caste justice politics; at the moment, it appears feebly received. The Congress had introduced regionalism in its Karnataka campaign mix, and has done that again in Rajasthan, where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has appealed to Rajasthani identity and language. The party has strong regional leaders in all election-going States, while the BJP has stymied its State leaders and deliberately introduced confusion about leadership as a strategy.
When the votes are counted on December 3, we will get to know which toppings sell.
Federalism Tract: Notes on Indian Diversity
Vegetarian communalism
Talking of pizza toppings, we have something more to chew on. The Uttar Pradesh government has declared November 25 as ‘no non-veg day’, and slaughter houses and meat shops have been ordered to remain shut. The State government is also seizing products labelled ‘halal’, after declaring such certification illegal. Many Muslims follow ‘halal’ restrictions in food, and the drive against it, while creating absolutely no social purpose, clearly harasses the community.
The idea that vegetarian food is morally superior is often used as an excuse for degrading people who eat meat. Food habits of India have evolved over centuries based on various contributing factors, including availability of certain food and even genetic composition of the population. In peninsular India and the eastern seaboard, people can digest meat easier than milk products. In the heartland, more people have a higher capacity to digest milk. The association of meat with notions of impurity has spurred more people to proclaim vegetarianism in an attempt to claim a higher social status. A large number of upper caste Hindus in Bengal, Bihar, U.P., and across India routinely consume meat, but still the association of vegetarianism with more authentic Hinduism is being propagated.
English-medium
The Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan has expanded access to English-medium schools in the State, and it is one of the seven guarantees that the Congress is promising to people if it wins another term. The BJP, which has a stated policy of opposing English, is facing a peculiar dilemma. People want English-medium education, and the BJP knows it. In fact, the BJP government in Gujarat is also trying to expand access to English-medium schools. The lack of teachers who can communicate in English is, however, a big problem that these schemes face.
Supreme Court puts Governors on notice
The Supreme Court of India has appeared to agree with the Tamil Nadu government that Governors cannot withhold Bills passed by the Assembly for a second time, after they have been returned by Raj Bhavan.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has, meanwhile, asserted that the CM as an “elected representative” of the people should be the Chancellor of State universities.
Can the Governor, an unelected appointee of the Centre, exercise discretion when it comes to the Bills passed by the legislature? On the debate about discretion and the concept of acting upon the ‘aid and advice’ of the Cabinet, here is an explainer. Governors are largely expected to go by what the Council of Ministers says, and use their discretion only when there is a suspected violation of the Constitution.
Women are wooed, but without representation
All political parties seem to be wooing women in the five election-going States, but data show that the representation of women falls short. Political parties never tire of pronouncing support for increasing women’s representation in politics, but they seem to think women can’t win elections — a situation that will change only when there are seats reserved for them.
Muslims are facing a severe crisis of under-representation in politics, and even parties that seek their votes are sceptical of fielding them as candidates. They fear a Hindu backlash against Muslim candidates. Here’s a report on Muslim presence, or rather the lack of it, in Telangana. The situation would be similar in other States too..
Unity and Diversity
While Chhath Puja is celebrated largely by Hindu women, in Bihar it is also an occasion for Hindu-Muslim harmony. Read this heart-warming story of Muslim women who make terracotta stoves that are used during the puja. Incidentally, rabid outfits have attacked Muslim traders at Hindu festivals and fairs in the recent past.
From across the border
As pro-democracy militia wage war against the military junta in Myanmar, several thousand refugees have crossed over the border to Mizoram. Here is an explainer on the raging conflict in Myanmar with a view on geopolitics, ethnic relations, and implications for the neighbouring country.
