Every Red Book Is Not A Marxist Document, Every BJP Critic Is Not An Urban Naxal!

BJP believes that the Muslim have voted en masse for the Congress, in what Fadnavis termed as Vote Jihad

As apprehended, the political discourse during the ongoing election campaign for the Jharkhand and Maharashtra legislative assembly elections is sliding to the lowest of low levels. Unfortunately, it is the Prime Minister who is leading the anti-Opposition campaign from the top. I do not recall any previous PMs getting down to such an abusive language as Narendra Modi.

After accusing the Congress of planning to snatch away Roti-Beti-Maati (bread, daughter and land), Maharashtra BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi represents Urban Naxals when he flaunts the “red book”. Fadnavis’ reference was to the flaunting of a copy of the Constitution of India.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate hit back and reminded Fadnavis of the importance of red – the colour of sindur, the cloth that adorns goddess Durga and above all blood.

Then the Prime Minister latched on to the social media post by the Maharashtra BJP alleging that the copies of the Constitution distributed by the Congress at a meeting in Nagpur were actually blank books. But, according to the Congress, it was just a notebook which was given, along with a pen, to the attendees.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the book that Rahul Gandhi flaunts at his meetings does contain each and every word from the Constitution. In fact, Modi himself presented a similar copy of the Constitution to the then President Ram Nath Kovind, Kharge said showing a photograph of that event.

The BJP has come out with a new narrative that the Congress gave away blank copies of the Constitution at a Nagpur meeting as the grand old party wants to erase Ambedkar’s document!

Modi has also mastered the art of raising corruption issues during electioneering and terming the Congress (and its friends) as an epitome of corruption and then forgetting about it after the accused joined the BJP through the saffron party’s washing-machine route.

Remember, he once described the NCP the Naturally Corrupt Party and went to the extent of saying that it is not a Rashtravadi, but a Bhrashtvadi party. So much so that NCP was involved in Rs 70,000-crore scams. Fadnavis even said the then Aji Pawar would be grinding in jail (Chakkipeesing, peesing and peesing). That is all history now that Ajit Pawar is part of the BJP Mahayuti. Of late, the PM has been reeling off his own figures of corruption by the Congress – Rs 700 crore collected by it from liquor traders in Karnataka. Then he attributes it to hearsay!

“People are saying that these days, in the name of elections in Maharashtra, the ‘vasooli’ (recovery) in Karnataka has doubled, elections are in Maharashtra and recovery has doubled in Karnataka and Telangana,” Modi says (as per a Deccan Herald report). Moreover, the Prime Minister also alleged that the Congress governments, wherever they are formed, that state becomes the ATM of the shahi-parivar (royal family) of Congress.

The Delhi liquor scam has been in the public glare for quite some time. The issue may be sub judice but many of the accused including the then Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal are out on bail as the courts found that the probe agencies have not found any proof of the money trail to the leaders. But the BJP had used the scam narrative to the hilt to paint AAP leaders as corrupt rogues who received massive kickbacks from the liquor trade.

The Prime Minister is not an ordinary BJP worker to make allegations that are not backed by proof. But then who will tell Modi that he should take his business seriously and peddle irresponsible allegations which turn out to be mere jumlas and a political bogeys .

He also accuses the non-BJP party governments of giving away freebies while at the same time announcing election (and pre-election) sops in the states run by his own party. Of course, the opposition blasts the PM for non-fulfilment of his own promises. For instance, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray refers to Modi’s promise of ensuring Rs 15 lakhs to every individual and explains that this has fallen flat with the BJP alliance government paying just Rs 1,500 to women under Ladli Behan yojana in Maharashtra. The BJP has no answer to this as it comes up with a new jumla for every election season.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched Batenge Toh Katenge slogan which critics saw as an attempt to polarise anti-Muslim votes. While the entire opposition blasted this idea, BJP ally Ajit Pawar said it will not work in Maharashtra which has always believed in inclusive society and solidarity. “It may work in other States, but not here,” he declared. Does this indicate that all is not well within the BJP Mahayuti?

The ruling alliance campaign is headlined as the 'BJP Mahayuti' which obviously means that it is this saffron party that is leading the Maharashtra election drive. CM Eknath Shinde who broke away from the Shiv Sena is not the CM face. Moreover, BJP strategist and Union Home Minister has declared that the alliance has not put up any CM face. A decision on this will be taken after the election results on November 23. That leaves room for Fadnavis to return as the CM, if the alliance wins. Uddhav Thackeray has already said that Shinde will be nowhere after the elections as per the BJP’s use-and-throw policy. As I mentioned, the NCP-Aji Pawar faction is the third partner in the Mahayuti.

For the Maha Vikas Aghadi (Uddhav Sena, Congress and NCP-Sharad Pawar), the redevelopment of Asia’s largest slum at Dharavi remains the focal point as the alliance opposed the alleged altering of tender conditions to suit the Adani group. Uddhav and his son Aaditya keep repeating the charge in their rallies and media meets across the State.

As the State gets set for voting on the next Wednesday, the electorate is bombarded with another issue – the Maharashtra self-respect and identity, whipped up by Maharashtra Nava Nirman Sena’s (MNS) Raj Thackeray, Uddhav’s cousin who broke away from the Shiv Sena in 2006 when the party supremo Bal Thackeray was alive. He talks of priority in jobs for the sons of soil while raking up the Hindutva and demanding the removal of loudspeakers at mosques.

Raj Thackeray has put up candidates across over a hundred constituencies, including his son Amit at Mahim in Mumbai. Amit’s candidature is supported by the BJP even as Shiv Sena (Shinde) has not withdrawn its candidate and sitting MLA Sada Sarvankar. Sena (Shinde) men are also in the fray, as independents, against the Mahayuti in some other places such as Airoli and Belapur.

Interestingly, Raj Thackeray has lashed out at Shinde for having an “obscene” Bhojpuri dance performance at the latter’s election rally at Kurla (before the public meeting). Is this the way to treat Laadli Behan, Raj asked, ridiculing the CM. MNS will surely be a vote cutter, apart from various rebels.

Finally, the voters are left with enough confusion as they have to choose from the six big parties – BJP, Congress, and two Shiv Sena and NCP factions – apart from rebels from Mahayuti as well as the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Then, there are many independents.

This explains the desperate bid by the BJP to polarise the so-called Hindutva votes and rake up religion and cast issues. BJP believes that the Muslim have voteden masse for the Congress, in what Fadnavis termed as Vote Jihad, during the Lok Sabha poll which led to the saffron parties’ losses.

The BJP, which continues to brand every critic as an Urban Naxal in its bid to opaque the harsh truth of real issues faced by the voters, now harps on its Red book jibe.

(The columnist is a Mumbai-based author and independent media veteran, running websites and a youtube channel known for his thought-provoking messaging)