By Tanveer Jafri
There are many political parties in India. But it’s alleged that Bhartiya Janata Party is such a political party that ignores the welfare of minorities & talks about the conservative Hindutva. Its aim is to get power by the polarization of votes based on communalism. India doesn’t totally favour this communal attitude of the Bhartiya Janata Party.
Most of the people of this country are in favour of Gandhian policy of harmonious religious attitude & they believe in cooperation of all the communities. But unfortunately sometimes, an enviorenment is created for spread of communalism. As a result of it, the people who base their politics on communalism get success & others who are in favour of secularism feel themselves helpless. In the recent elections in Gujarat, a prosperous state of India, that had remained the birth place & work field of Mahatma Gandhi; there was polarization of votes in the democratic setup that moved the secular powers.
By electing Narendra Modi as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for the third time, the people of Gujarat have wanted to give a clear message. In the eyes of the people of the world, Narendra Modi may be a fascist, communal minded or strong Hindutvavadi but the people of Gujarat have full faith in the leadership of Narendra Modi. Anyhow in the fresh assembly elections of Gujarat, Bhartiya Janata Party that contested under the leadership of Narendra Modi got 11 seats less than the previous elections whereas Congress Party gained 11 seats. It can be said that the popularity of Narendra Modi has comparatively gone down & Congress has increased its percentage. Despite these statistics, in the parliamentary democratic setup, securing of more seats & to cross the figure of simple majority is considered the sign of victory. So, it is an accepted fact that Narendra Modi has made a good return for the third time, as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
The political analysts have been viewing the return of Narendra Modi in Gujarat, differently. Some people are of the view that the polarization of communal powers in Gujarat, the home state of Mahatma Gandhi is not good sign for the future of democracy of India. Some people think that there will arise the atmosphere of fear in the minorities of Gujarat. The leaders of Bhartiya Janata Party, by themselves, have felt too much pleasure & they are dreaming to capture power in Delhi. Just after the victory of Narendra Modi, a sign board has been fixed at the national office of the Bhartiya Janata Party in New Delhi, which makes a man to guess the future policy of Bhartiya Janata Party. In this sign board, the face of Narendra Modi has been shown larger than the faces of the central leaders. Besides, there has been written on this sign board that- ‘Whoever will talk for the Hindu motives will rule over the country.’
Hindutva politics is not a new thing for the BJP. Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS), Bhartiya Jansangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) & Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) are the different names of the organizations that have the same thought. But one thing is clear that Bhartiya Janata Party has felt that the central power can’t be taken under control only by praising the Hindutvavad & by ignoring the goodwill of the minorities. So BJP, at different times, by using the face of Atal Bihari Vajpayee has tried to give the message that the party has a liberal person such as Vajpayee. Not only this, after giving an important place to some Muslim leaders in the party, the party tried to give a proof of its secularism. The BJP, many a time, has tried to show its secular face by making the candidates from the minorities. But the policy that Narendra Modi has adopted in the Gujarat elections reveals the true & future face of the party.
In the fresh elections in Gujarat, the BJP totally ignored the 9% Muslim minorities. It didn’t make any candidate from the Muslim community. It even didn’t invite any of the central leaders from the minorities, in the election meetings in Gujarat. Besides, Narendra Modi used such a language, in his speeches, during his election campaign that made the votes of the majority to understand that Narendra Modi is the main custodian of the Hindutvavad & the Hindu gains are secure in his hands. Narendra Modi also succeeded in giving this message to the majority people that only he is the greatest enemy of the terrorism.
Now, the most important question is that the 57 years bachelor Narendra Modi, who has risen as the person who represents traditional Hindutvavad will by able to impress the national politics just as it has done in the Gujarat elections. If we keep in mind the increase of 11 seats of Congress Party in Gujarat & loss of 11 seats to Narendra Modi, we shall find that graph of communal politics of Modi has fallen in Gujarat. But one thing is there. By ruling for next five years over Gujarat, Narendra Modi can go ahead with his Hindutva mission & even strengthen it. He can also take some steps which include the development works. All these will help him to have a strong hold over his politics in Gujarat.
Now will BJP adopt the path taken by Narendra Modi & the experiment undertaken in Gujarat will be done in the rest of the country? This possibility may have strengthened itself for the time being in the state of Mahatma Gandhi but such possibilities are no where in sight at the national level. Because the entire Hindu community may not be taken in by these words of BJP as they know that Lord Ram, the Temple, the Hindutva & the ancient culture are the only slogans to impress the common voters.
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Tanveer Jafri can be contacted at [email protected]