Hindutva, Nationalism and AAP’s lack of imagination

Today there are not many leaders in India on the national level who can challenge the cult of Narendra Modi and the juggernaut of BJP. But similar cults around leaders have been established in various states. Bengal was one such state where Mamata Banerjee owns the assembly, where BJP’s ‘rath yatra’ was stopped by her cult. A similar cult can be seen in Kerala where Pinarayi Vijayan was successful in breaking the one-term rule in the 2021 assembly elections, but it was a direct confrontation between LDF and UDF as BJP had no prospects in the state.

Courtesy: Bloomberg

Other than Bengal if there is any state where BJP was denied power even after regressive campaigning by leaders like J.P Nadda, Amit Shah and Narendra Modi himself then it is Delhi. Results of Delhi assembly are even significant than Bengal because of its proximity to Hindi heartland, demography and a largely Hindu middle-class population, a section that constitutes the core of BJP vote bank. 

This feat was achieved by the Aam Aadmi Party because of Arvind Kejriwal’s branding of himself as an ‘aam aadmi’(common man). Party’s working on ground and Kejriwal’s ability to tap the nerve of a common man delivered him back-to-back landslide victories in two consecutive elections. But lately, it seems like AAP is losing their vision as leaders have not been able to come up with anything novel, hence, ending up as a mirror image of the BJP.

Courtesy: PTI

In last few months their actions have been desperate. It depicts their lack of understanding with people needed to move beyond Delhi. A change of stance can be observed in the actions of ministers like Manish Sisodia. Once in an interview, he was heard saying that “he would rather propose for building a university(on the disputed land of Ayodhya) where both Hindus and Muslims will study the principles of Ram”. Recent ‘tiranga yatra’ by the now education minister of Delhi suggests otherwise where he claimed that “Ram Rajya is the best form of governance”.

“We will form a government that will govern on ideals given by Lord Ram,” the deputy CM said. “We take the blessings of Shri Ramchandra-Ji, will raise the tricolour (and) will teach real nationalism,” he added.

A similar shift in the ideological stance of AAP can also be observed in many other actions as well. CM’s promise of building a Haj House in the capital has been completely shushed following protests by some radical right-wing organisations. It rather seems like the idea of Haj House has been brushed under the carpet. On the other hand, schemes like Mukhyamantri Tirath Yatra are being advertised and fast-tracked with even greater force.

Courtesy: TV9

Only a few days back while observing its foundation day, AAP’s Bihar unit’s in-charge, Sanjeev Jha, while speaking to party workers told how they will define “patriotism and nationalism” for people. 

Similarly, in a recent interview with a major TV channel, when asked by the host about the party’s wavering ideology and constant trembling between Hindutva and anti-Hindutva, Arvind Kejriwal replied by saying “hum asli Hindutva hain”(we are real followers of Hindutva). 

The top leadership of the party needs to understand that it was not Arvind Kejriwal being a hard nationalist Hindu that has not only won them the state of Delhi but built a cult around him. It was his pitch of a frustrated common man ready to take on the system and remove lethargy and corruption from the country’s bureaucracy. 

It is a pity that a party that has displayed courageous politics and has taken BJP heads on, not only in Delhi but wherever it has a base, is now resorting to a road much travelled. Introduction of ‘Deshbhakti curriculum’ in Delhi and the CM being a ‘devout Hindu’ is nothing but an attempt by another party to simply ape the BJP and expect results without bringing anything new to the table. Such attempts are nothing but self-destructive, which might transform India’s political space into a right vs right arena.