India: Hindutva Agenda and Elections 2014 (Essay by Ram Puniyani)

The forthcoming elections to the Indian Parliament are very crucial as the major political parties are in some sort of disarray and the other electoral outfits do not look to be strong enough to take up the challenge of spearheading the electoral process. They are also fragmented and not in a position to come to power on their own. While these equations are going on, despite not being in the best of health BJP at times shows signs of gearing up to take the centre stage, especially through the projection of Narendra Modi, who is a sort of darling of the big industrialists and a hero of sections of middle class, the IT-MBA class, and other communalized sections of society. BJP is the political arm of RSS, the organization trying to push the country towards Hindu Rashtra through its agenda of Hindutva. It has been out of power from 2004, after being in power on its own in 1996 for 13 days and later from 1998 to 2004 with a small interlude. Its electoral percentage has constantly and marginally declined in last three parliamentary elections; despite that it is in the reckoning for power. The projection of Narendra Modi is a double-edged weapon, inspiring a section and putting off other sections of the society. So which way will it go at the hustings remains to be seen.

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