The Hindu
April 28, 2009
Hindutva finally creeps into BJP agenda in Madhya Pradesh
Mahim Pratap Singh
Sushma attacks Central government on inflation
I do not believe in making tall claims: Chauhan
Bhopal: With the second phase polls drawing closer, the Bharatiya Janata Party is finally using its Hindutva trump card to win votes in Madhya Pradesh. Veteran leader and election in-charge for the BJP in the State Sushma Swaraj explicitly brought up the issue of Rama in one of her rallies.
At Nagda in support of party candidate Dr. Satyanarayan Jatiya, Ms. Swaraj said the people did not want a government that denied the existence of Rama. She also attacked the Central government for not being able to rein in inflation.
While Hindutva has been the BJP’s overtly stated agenda at the national level, it has not been at the forefront of campaigning in Madhya Pradesh, largely due to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s image of a moderate. This appears to have made sense for the party in the State where a sizable chunk of the electorate is comprised of religious minorities and tribals.
This policy further gets reflected in the party not inviting firebrand Hindutva propagandists Narendra Modi and Varun Gandhi for campaigning in the State. Ms. Swaraj’s statements, however, mark a departure from this stance.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chauhan reacted to Ms. Swaraj’s statements over the number of seats that the BJP would win in the State.
“I do not believe in making tall claims of victory, those who do so are hypocrites,” said Mr. Chauhan, addressing journalists in Guna. Just two days ago at the same place, Ms. Swaraj said the party would win all seats in M.P.
Ms. Shivraj also said L.K. Advani as Prime Minister would bring stability to the nation. Addressing an election rally in Gwalior, he said “ironman Advani” had the political will to provide stability to the country.
The verbal volley between Rahul Gandhi and Mr. Chauhan, generated by the latter’s strongly worded response to the Congress general secretary’s remarks, has taken a new turn with Mr. Gandhi hitting back at Mr. Chauhan in one of his election rallies.
“How would I know how much is reaching the poor? The State government should know that. I am not the one pilfering funds,” said Mr. Gandhi, speaking at rallies in Bhind, Shujalpur and Khandwa.
The Congress general secretary and former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh is leaving no stone unturned in making matters difficult for his brother and BJP candidate from Rajgarh, Laxman Singh. In last year’s Assembly elections, the BJP could only manage to win three out of the eight Assembly seats in Rajgarh.
Not only has Mr. Singh, or ‘Diggy’ as he is affectionately called, been explicitly condoning his brother Laxman, he has gone a step ahead and called Congress candidate from Rajgarh Narayan Singh “more than a real brother.”
The Rashtriya Swayam Sevak has actively come out in the open in support of Mr. Laxman Singh. Analysts say the reason Mr. Laxman Singh is not making any statements against Digvijay Singh is because he intends to benefit from the royal political legacy of his elder brother.
Realising this, Mr. Digvijay Singh has been repeatedly saying that he has given a large part of his royal property to Laxman, but wouldn’t do the same with his political legacy.
Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh became the latest addition to the long list of violators of the Representation of People’s Act 1951, in this edition of the Lok Sabha polls.
Mr. Amar Singh was booked under sections 125 and 123 (3) of the Act, for delivering a controversial speech at Naugaon in Chhatarpur. An FIR was filed against him in the Naugaon police station.
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