Rahul offering voters cow, cow urine, cow dung and cowsheds.
They say imitation is the best form of flattery. Well, the way the Congress leaders, from that self-confessed janeudhari Shiv Bhakt, Rahul Gandhi, to lesser ones like Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia, C.P. Joshi, etc., are flaunting their newfound faith in Hindutva, the BJP has reason to feel immensely pleased with itself. After suffering vile abuse for decades, every party which seeks to replace it in power has embraced its pro-Hindu agenda. It has effectively won the ideological battle in the electoral market, never mind what the outcome of the ongoing state polls.
What to talk of the Congress distancing itself from the BJP’s aggressive Gaumata obsession, the party is committing itself to build tens of thousands of gaushalas in the poll-bound Hindi heartland states. Arun Shourie got it slightly wrong when, asked the difference between the UPA and the NDA government, he said the latter was “Congress plus cow”. Now, Congress itself has taken the cow to its bosom. Mohan Bhagwat should send a congratulatory note to the Congress president. Indeed, he should ask him to join the BJP now that he, the Kailash-Sarovar pilgrim, has jumped on its Hindutva bandwagon with his eyes wide open. Or, at the very least, book Gandhi to be the main speaker at the next year’s Vijaydashami event in Nagpur.
Levity aside, the acceptability of copy-cat products in almost all fields has always been suspect, especially when the original is freely available. In publishing, it is called the Newsweek syndrome. The clone of the original Time magazine, despite valiant efforts at reader acceptability, finally went under a few years ago. The point is that the voters are unlikely to settle for the opportunistic purveyors of Hindutva when the BJP, with a virtual copyright on the political ideology, has lock on it.
On the election trail, the Congress’ need to project itself as pro-Hindu has led to peculiar situations. Local party workers are instructed to ensure that Muslims, especially those who stand out a mile with their caps and beards, are not given a place on the public stage. In Madhya Pradesh, where Muslims are concentrated in a few pockets, local leaders must meet them in secret huddles. In any case, the Congress reckons that Muslims per force would vote for it, since on the top of their mind is the defeat of the original Hindutva brigade. Therefore, the Congress leaders should concentrate on winning over the Hindus. Hence, the promises of a Ram temple, gaushalas, monthly stipends for temple priests, cow urine marketing, etc.
City folks who turn their noses at the misdoings of the Hindutva zealots, citing these as the main cause for anger against the Modi government, are left with no option, now that the Congress has fully bought into the BJP Hindutva brand. Otherwise, how would you explain the Congress promise in its manifesto to market bottled cow urine, or the claim that its leaders regularly drink the stuff and certify its many medicinal properties? The urban voter should try and acquaint himself with the face the Congress is presenting before ticking off the original Hindutva brigade. It is shocking that Scindia, apparently the modern, youthful leader, is in the forefront swearing by the multifaceted properties of cow urine and cow dung and such like beliefs and practices.
Meanwhile, at one level, both the BJP and the Congress are fake Hindus. The BJP has all along used Hindutva as a ticket to power. And the Congress has all along decried it, swearing by secularism. Now that the Congress has been reduced to a mere rump of its former self, it has adopted the very-same Hindutva of the BJP. The voter in the state elections therefore is hard put to choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
LEMON AND CHILLI FOR SCINDIA
The Congress’ newfound love for Hindutva creates confusion. Aside from making it mandatory for the Congress leaders to pray at every temple in poll-bound states, they take part in various pujas and paths that constituents are prone to perform round the year. This obliges many leaders to act against their instinct. Like on the campaign trail in Madhya Pradesh, a senior Congress leader, who reckons his own chief ministerial chances, was given a coconut and prasad by a party worker. Promptly, the leader flung it out of his car the moment he left the place. It did not take long for a video to go viral.
Again, Jyotiraditya Scindia is often seen with a garland of lemons and green chillies around his neck on the campaign trail. Various theories were put out why instead of the usual garland of marigolds he had this peculiar thing dangling from his neck—something you often notice on outer doors of urban homes. But the consensus was that a nimbu and mirchi necklace was meant to ward off evil—from whom, being the million dollar question, with most people believing that it was to neutralise the challenge to his own chief ministerial prospects from Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, etc.
CASE OF ONE BARAAT, MANY GROOMS
While still on the MP campaign, let us recall the trite, everyday saying, Yeh janta hain, Yeh sab kuchh janti hai. An often heard comment from an average voter in the state is that even if one were inclined to vote Congress, it has got too many dulhas (bridegrooms), whereas the BJP has no such confusion. Shivraj Singh Chouhan is the sole chief ministerial candidate. The same confusion prevails in Rajasthan, while in Chhattisgarh the Congress is in such a poor state, it does not even have a single known contender for the Chief Minister’s post.
SUSHMA HEADED FOR MARGDARSHAK MANDAL?
Yet another BJP leader might be looking for a safe perch in the Rajya Sabha. Sushma Swaraj, who took the BJP rank and file by surprise, announcing on the campaign trail in Madhya Pradesh that she would not contest for Lok Sabha, will certainly want to be accommodated in the House of the Elders. After all, a bungalow and other perks that come with being an MP are not easy to shun, while you can bypass the people for a place in Parliament.
Whether she would get her wish, or be forced to join the ranks of Margdarshaks, remains to be seen. But it can be safely said that not many would miss her in the party organisation, given that she had hardly ever worked to strengthen it. She made herself available for a few poll rallies during Assembly and parliamentary polls, but by and large she was not an active contributor to the organisation. However, her ambition did far outstrip her contribution. Her campaign slogan in the 1990s was, “Ab Key Baari Atal Bihari, Agli Bari Behan Hamari (Vajpayee for PM now, next time Sushma).” Or when Advani was still continuing as the Leader of the Opposition, and she was his deputy, her camp would openly lament, “Budda abh bhi retire nahin hota.” And it is public knowledge she was miffed when Narendra Modi staked claim to lead the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign. But then with a Socialist pedigree, she cannot but be super opportunistic.