Hoping Hindu votes will consolidate after crossing the barricades of caste, the Bharatiya Janata Party and its parent outfit, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, are engaged in subtle experiments in Bihar based on the Hindutva plank.
Having been convinced that it is difficult to make inroads into the ‘fixed caste vote bank’ of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United), the party believes a correct mix of the popularity of its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and the invoking of Hindu sentiments is the only way it can increase its tally.
Traditional tactics such as processions during religious festivals are being used by the RSS to attract Yadav and Dalit voters.
Shobha Yatras On Ram Navami day, the State witnessed Shobha Yatras with unprecedented participation. Though the function was organised under the banner of temple committees and religious organisations, BJP candidates, senior leaders, and even the spouses of candidates in certain areas, were seen leading these processions.
“I haven’t seen such agitated processions on Ram Navami in my life time. People wearing shirts with Bajrang Dal printed on them led the Shobha Yatra here. They were carrying swords, hockey sticks and iron roads. They played loud music against Pakistan and film songs that have nothing to do with Ram Navami,” said Mahesh Tiwari, a 50-year-old accountant in a local shop in Bhabua. Tiwari, however, was not impressed by the show of strength.
Eminent sociologist Hetukar Jha, who has studied Bihar in depth, said the disruption of the village system is resulting in the growth of communalism and casteism in the State.
“The gap between political sector and social sector has widened. I am afraid this process will end up as an open invitation to fascism. Political parties here are inviting the danger of fascism,” Jha told Business Line.
Nafeesa Naj, a teacher on contract attached to a local school in Dumrao, said the Modi wave is building insecurity among Muslims. As a child, Nafeesa, who is originally from Bhagalpur, witnessed her close relatives and friends getting murdered by a frenzied mob in the 1989 riots that claimed more than a thousand lives.
“I have seen headless bodies in canals. I don’t think I can ever recover from that trauma. I do not want any one in the country to witness such riots. Modi can never assure a riot-free society,” Naj said.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the RJD supremo Lalu Prasad have been urging people not to fall for the Hindutva campaign. They believe the BJP will never succeed in communalising Bihar. “This election will decide whether the country should be divided again on communal lines or not,” Lalu Prasad said.
Many activists of the RSS and BJP to whom Business Line spoke said the decision to organise aggressive processions was taken purposefully. In the Buxar constituency, BJP candidate Ashwani Chaube’s wife Neeta participated in a procession carrying a Durga Vahini in her hands. “It’s election time. Naturally our young supporters are aggressive. Also, the statement of Imam Bukhari in Delhi supporting the Congress has further agitated Hindus resulting in unprecedented participation in the Shobha Yatras ,” said Ramji Singh Yadav, a senior RSS activist in Buxar.
Hindu PM Sisir Kumar Jha, the Darbhanga District President of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, said they are witnessing a Modi wave similar to the one in 1977 against the Congress. “Darbhanga is becoming a terrorist training centre. There is a feeling among the people that a Hindu should become the Prime Minister. Modi’s image as a hardcore Hindutva proponent is helping us. It is shaking the Muslim-Yadav combination and all the other caste equations,” Jha said, adding that the Ram Navami celebrations have helped them consolidate the base.