BJP wants Ram Rajya in U.P.

BJP after having seen their corruption rallies failing to attract the masses is back to basics again in Uttar Pradesh. With assembly elections due next year BJP wants to saffronise Uttar Pradesh by reviving Ram Mandir issue in a bid to regain its political base which is shrinking by the day. The renewed pledge to build Ram temple by the BJP sounds hollow and politically motivated. Although the dialects of their resolves may vary from person to person but the commitment always remains hawkish.

BJP president Gadkari at a Mahasangaram rally in Faizabad on 27 April reaffirmed BJP’s commitment to build Ram Mandir at any cost. He claimed his presence at the spot was the proudest at the spot moments of his life. It is believed that party president at the eleventh hour deviated from the original script which dealt with corruption to the issue of Ram Mandir only to present his thoughts on the subject as the new party president. In the past he had been trying to downplay his and his party leaders’ views on the issue by saying that Ram is not a political issue or political agenda for the BJP. Vinay Katiyar who was also present at the Mahasangram rally had said, “Babar got the mosque constructed by using brute force. We will build the Ram temple at the spot by resorting to the same method.”  Surprisingly, during 2009 Lok Sabha election campaign Narendra Modi did not mention Ram during his 45 minute speech in Ayodhya.

For the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections it seems all political parties have hurriedly geared themselves into poll mode. All parties are formulating the following their strategy and for that their political pundits have begun to streamline their further line of action keeping in mind the importance of the election following results and its numerical strength in Indian polity. BJP wants to regain lost ground. Congress hopes to consolidate the figures of the last elections while the Bhahujan Samaj Party will definitely try to retain its political bastion. Samajwadi Party is desperate to keep its head held high not only in Uttar Pradesh politics but also at the Centre. The importance of smaller parties will fairly depend on the success and failure of social engineering of the BSP. Parties like RLD, Peace Party and the recently launched Welfare Party can turn out to be decisive if there is probability of a coalition government.

For BJP, Gadkari may experiment to win the upper caste votes and for that the party banks on Kalraj Mishra who has been named election incharge and probables among others for the highest post in the state. BJP on the whole may look forward to create a fine balance between Hindutva and development. Gadkari’s poll mantra in UP is likely to revolve around survey, rallies and political arithmetic of alliance. Example of Jharkhand is also before us where he defied party lines. Return of hardcore propagator of Hindutva is aimed to raise the pitch and intensity of the political battle. Uma Bharati’s return will decide the nomenclature of the BJP’s political script in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Over the years BJP has failed to pin point chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh or the prime ministerial candidate. In one way or the other it does harm BJP as voters want to know whom they are voting for. Selection of candidate for the highest post is also equally important. BJP by taking so many probable names is baffling voters. The please-all policy of the BJP ends up in displeasing even their supporters. Because of infighting and groupism the party remains apprehensive to name a single chief ministerial candidate or a prime ministerial candidate. There is absolute dearth of political figures like Atal Behari Bajpayee who could be named without fear of stiff opposition from within.

Now what is significant for all parties is to analyse the way people across India stepped out of their houses to join Anna Hazare’s anti corruption call. This surely marks the beginning of people’s pent up desire for development and good governance. These people may not be fooled or used by any political party or any organisation either on religious issue or any kind of divisive politics. They all know that their success and huge support is just because of their neutrality and commitment to a just and popular cause.

However, there are people working round the clock to turn the tide on to their side. “People like Awadhesh Dixit and Rupesh Pandey, who are close aides of Govindacharya and follow Hindutva ideology, have been included in the committee. Despite knowing their ideological leanings, Kejariwal is openly promoting them. This is sending a wrong signal and many people have started asking whether Govincharya is running the show from behind the scene. This was communicated to Hazare and his team. They have now decided to follow their own programme and shun Kejariwal. In this way the elements of Sangh have taken a back seat,” an organising committee member said, according to Mail Today (28 April, 2011).



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