Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr
EVERY poll victory of the right-wing BJP is heartbreaking for the liberals in India. This holds true for the triumph of the party in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It is obvious that the BJP will implement its Hindutva programme, though its ideology is not the reason for its latest success. The Congress, on its part, while aware of the complex reality on the ground, is likely to prepare for a hardened ideological stance for the 2024 General Election. It is this ideological twist which is likely to distort the picture of India, especially Hindi-speaking north and central India, and the BJP would only feel smug that it is on a good perch. The political reality is quite different.
Indeed, many people in the Hind heartland generally favour Hindu majoritarianism, and this phenomenon predates the rise of the BJP and the emergence of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, but their voting choices are not solely determined by ideology. When the people of the Hindi-speaking states voted for the Congress till the end of the 1980s, they were neither too secular nor too socialist in their inclinations. So, it is better to avoid the simplification that the BJP has succeeded in ‘Hinduising’ the political scene. The obvious reason for the success of the BJP is the weaknesses of the Congress, and again it is not because the Congress was practising secular politics. The Congress had adroitly managed religious and caste sentiments, but its skills and tricks have become jaded over time. The party failed to retain power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, even as its successes this year have been confined to south India (Karnataka and Telangana).
Many critics of the BJP direct their anger towards the Congress because they feel that it is the vices of the Congress that paved the way for the BJP to attain political power. We are likely to witness intense debates on the saffronisation of India due to the BJP’s electoral victories. And the Sunday results seem to confirm the despair of those opposed to the BJP.
The political situation is not as polarised as the ideological debate, and it would not be right to dismiss the ideological angle altogether. The BJP governments in the states and Centre would argue that their electoral victory makes it imperative to implement the Hindutva agenda, and they would even say loudly, however unconvincing they might be, that they are not against the religious minorities, especially the Muslims. As the United States is divided politically into blue (Democratic) and red (Republican) states, it is evident that the Indian states are divided between saffron (BJP) and secular (anti-BJP or non-BJP) camps. While this will undoubtedly intensify the political debate, it is evident that states where the BJP has now come into power will face challenges similar to those faced by the Congress in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. And when the next round of elections takes place, people may cast their votes differently. The significance of these Assembly elections, and that of every election in this country, is the fact that democracy is working. People change governments.
The results also show that people were not taken in by promises of welfare measures because both the Congress and the BJP were offering them in plenty. What they seemed keen on was to vote for a different party compared to the 2018 Assembly elections. The choice was made easier in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh because it was a straight fight between the BJP and the Congress. Notably, even the losing party got a big chunk of the votes. There is the constant fear that given its right-wing authoritarian leanings, the BJP in office could any day declare all other parties unlawful or put their leaders behind bars, like what happens in many anti-liberal countries. The BJP, which shares an affinity for authoritarian and populist democracy with the Left, does not appear inclined towards a multi-party polity. But the moment has not yet come.
It would be necessary to keep a watch on the anti-democratic tendencies of the BJP. It is likely to believe that every electoral victory gives it the leeway to do away with democratic practices. It is likely that in the three states where it has won the elections on Sunday, the BJP would want to push its Hindutva agenda. Like in Uttarakhand, another BJP-ruled state, where the Uniform Civil Code is sought to be implemented, or as seen in Assam, where madrasas are being renamed as government schools and the teaching of Arabic is being banned, the BJP governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will take up ostensibly Hindutva measures, strengthening the reactionary practices of the majority community or looking to attack religious minorities in direct and indirect ways, especially on the education front. The BJP is likely to pursue the Hindutva agenda, believing that it will help sway people to vote for the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The sharpening of ideological tools for governance is bound to have a negative impact on the mindset of young people, who will be taught to conform and believe in collectivities. It would impede and affect their individual development. This would have repercussions across generations and decades, and affect the economic and social growth of the country. The BJP drive towards nationalistic homogeneity, even as it mouths platitudes about diversity, is the political price that the country would have to pay.
But people cannot be blamed if they are not offered a credible alternative, one that encourages liberal values instead of promoting mere hatred for right-wing ideology. The counter to right-wing politics is not left-wing ideology. Politics offer many lessons which we do not always grasp.
