BJP’s impactful slogan, ‘If you get divided, you will get cut off,’ countered Rahul’s caste politics in Haryana, securing backward-class support.
New Delhi: The congress despite facing crushing defeat in Haryana is trying to ploy the similar tactic of using the card of backward classes. This strategy made the Congress face severe repercussions, in Haryana. In the Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is once again steering the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) toward the arena of backward-class politics. In the Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections, he has brought this strategy back into play with the “Save Constitution” slogan. Congress believes its 99 seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections were due, in part, to this focus. However, a deeper analysis of its substantial defeats across various states might have led Rahul to reconsider this approach. In most Hindi and non-Hindi belt states, Congress faced direct losses to the BJP. Following a smaller-than-anticipated seat count in the Lok Sabha, the BJP overhauled its strategy in Haryana, where the ‘Sangh’ openly took charge of election management. Learning from its Lok Sabha missteps, the BJP presented a unified front, while Congress stuck to its traditional reliance on the Constitution and familiar tactics, ultimately leading to defeat.
BJP found a solution to Rahul’s politics of backward classes with slogans like, “Bantoge to Katoge (‘If you divide, you will be cut off’). BJP surprisingly had this slogan in Haryana, which had a massive impact. The BJP’s slogan “If you divide, you will be cut off” played a significant role in the Haryana elections, helping it secure votes among backward classes and Dalits by highlighting Rahul Gandhi’s overseas statements on reservation and accusing Congress of attempting to end it.
Despite this, Rahul Gandhi has again turned to backward-class politics. Following Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s slogan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi intensified the Hindutva narrative with “If you stay united, you will be safe,” emphasising BJP’s belief that Hindu unity ensures strength. Congress, however, seems not to realise that its attempts to divide Hindus only prompt BJP to unify them, pushing issues like inflation, unemployment, corruption, and farmer concerns to the background.
Rahul Gandhi also raised issues regarding tribals, like Vanvasi in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, during assembly elections, but the party saw little benefit. Additionally, he raised the topics of caste census and backward-class politics in recent assembly elections without substantial gains. Rahul seems to be misinterpreting the Lok Sabha results, as backward-class politics didn’t resonate in a state like Haryana, which voted soon after the Lok Sabha elections.
The strategists of Congress are of the opinion that the Hindus who are united on the issue of Hindutva of BJP can be divided by doing politics on the basis of caste. Rahul Gandhi appears to be following a path that contradicts Congress’s traditional policies. His grandmother Indira Gandhi once championed the slogan “Na Jaat Par Na Paat, Muhar Lagegi Haath Par,” a message later echoed by his father, Rajiv Gandhi.
However, after losing two consecutive Lok Sabha elections and multiple assembly elections, Rahul has turned to caste politics as his primary strategy in this year’s general elections. When forming the I.N.D.I Alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar advised Rahul on pursuing backward-class politics, each with their own goals—Lalu aimed to make his son Tejaswi the Chief Minister, while Nitish hoped to move to Delhi. Yet, this approach backfired, with Nitish returned to the NDA and Rahul continued down this path.
Another discussion suggests that “an American NGO”, following a survey, advised Rahul that backward-class politics could be advantageous in India, which he accepted. The shift toward caste politics alienated upper-caste voters, who moved toward the BJP, while backward-caste votes remain divided among parties in major states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where BJP still attracts support alongside regional parties.
The shift toward caste politics alienated upper-caste voters, who gravitated toward the BJP, leaving Congress with minimal support.
In the Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s losses in Uttar Pradesh were not due to caste politics but rather internal conflicts, though Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) attributed them to backward-class politics. Similarly, BJP’s setbacks in Rajasthan also stemmed from internal disputes. In fact, the real test of the politics of backward classes will now be in the by-elections of Uttar Pradesh.
The way Rahul has again started doing the politics of constitution and caste, he may feel that castes, Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Tribes can be appeased in Jharkhand and Maharashtra. Muslim votes will automatically go to the I.N.D.I.Alliance.
Congress did not think about the fact that the biggest face of OBC is Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
ST vote is never one sided. Second most important thing is that like Haryana, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is working on every seat in Jharkhand and Maharashtra. If RSS is active then BJP supported vote will come out of the house in any case and BJP’s “booth management” is much stronger than Congress.
Congress is not considering the strength of its rival, BJP, which is considered to be the strongest party in the world organisationally. BJP has a big network of RSS workers working selflessly for more than 50 years. Second, in this day and age young generation is not very interested in casteism.
But like most times, in Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections, the political landscape remains uncertain. It’s hard to predict which party is going to gain majority.
Congress may be banking on victory through alliances, but its stance on reservation and caste politics could backfire, as the BJP is pushing hard to unify Hindu voters, leveraging the slogans of PM Modi and Yogi Adityanath.
Meanwhile, in Jammu and Kashmir, the proposal by CM Omar Abdullah’s government to reinstate Article 370 has placed Congress in a difficult position. And BJP is capitalising on this, in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. By breaking down caste-based politics, BJP aims to polarise Hindu votes in its favour.
Although Mahayuti ally and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar has objected to CM Yogi Adityanath’s slogan, “If you divide, you will be cut off”, but even he understands that winning without Hindu support will be challenging, and a split in Muslim votes seems inevitable.
When BJP and RSS unite, they set aside internal factions, unlike Congress, which faces constant battles for cohesion both within and outside the party. Rahul Gandhi may need to reconsider his strategy and must navigate these dynamics accordingly.