The communal rhetoric that was heretofore missing from the BJP campaign has suddenly returned and the Musalman has become a common demonized refrain for the party's mascot – Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The reason, note a number of observers and field reporters, lie in the obvious slump in the BJP’s electoral prospects. Even the party’s inside surveys and those conducted by its parent organization – the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – estimate that the party has lost considerable touch with the electorate and that given the downward spiral in public support for it, it may only barely make the majority mark.
The Friday Times reported last week that as India voted in the first phase of polling, analysts predicted a slide for the BJP.
Now when India’s election has entered the second phase, the writing on the wall appears grim for BJP and PM Modi, who is pompously seeking a third term, which will put him on the perch with past great leaders like Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Plus, Modi’s elevation is also said to be ardently imperative for crony capitalists like Adani and Ambani, whose companies are at the vanguard of most of the private sector’s development – both within India and offshore.
Without mincing words, Modi referred to Muslims as “infiltrators.” He also said that the opposition Congress party would confiscate the gold and jewellery of Hindu women and that its election manifesto calls for the distribution of the confiscated wealth to Muslims.
On the campaign trail this weekend, Modi sparked outcry over his speech at a rally in the western state of Rajasthan, which also borders the capital, New Delhi. This was in a constituency that goes to the polls in the second phase of voting on Friday, April 26.
Without mincing words, Modi referred to Muslims as “infiltrators.” He also said that the opposition Congress party would confiscate the gold and jewellery of Hindu women and that its election manifesto calls for the distribution of the confiscated wealth to Muslims. “Aapki aurton ka mangalasutra (wedding lockets of Hindu women) bhi Musalmanon ko de denge jinke itne sare bache hain aur jo ghuspaithiye hain (They will gather all your wealth and distribute it among those who have more children. They will distribute it among infiltrators),” were his words.
Following the speech, more than 17,000 people signed a petition to India’s Election Commission demanding action against Modi for hate speech against Muslims and for violating the Commission’s moral code of conduct. However, no action was initiated against Modi till the writing of this article, let alone a customary warning from the Election Commission which functions as an autonomous body.
The Congress party has also petitioned the Election Commission.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politburo member and renowned politician of the Left Brinda Karat even filed an FIR for action against Modi for “fomenting communal division.”
Later, an online petition calling for the Election Commission to take action against Modi “for his acts of violation of the Model Code of Conduct,” was launched by Karat’s fellow comrade Subhashini Ali, a former Member of Parliament and Politburo member of CPI(M).
The speech on Sunday followed a few different kinds of speeches that Modi has been making recently, in which he has been using the pejorative associations with Muslims to demean the Congress party.
When the Congress party released its manifesto ahead of the elections, Modi said it reeked of the Muslim League, the pre-independence party that led to the creation of Pakistan.
As if being ultra-confident that no disciplinary action would be taken against him, Modi in another speech in Rajasthan on Tuesday said that Congress would distribute welfare benefits among Muslims instead of reserved categories like SC, ST and OBC sections of Hindu community. “Manmohan Singh (former PM) had said that Muslims have the first claim on India’s resources… so try to understand the intention of Congress. If they come back to power, they will snatch benefits meant for you and give them to the Muslims,” he said.
Modi also said that the grand old party (Congress) was hatching a conspiracy to “snatch your (Hindu) property” and “distribute it among selected people.”
Modi’s deliberately communal remarks have prompted a raft of complaints from Indian journalists, academics, lawyers and political experts, who have urged the country’s Election Commission to take immediate action.
He even showed the temerity to mock the reactions to his previous (Sunday) speech. The Prime Minister said, “The day before yesterday in Rajasthan, I put forth some truth in front of the country, and the entire Congress and INDIA alliance went into a panic. I put forth the truth that Congress is plotting to snatch your property and distribute it to their special people...When I exposed their politics, they got so angry that they started abusing Modi.”
Modi’s deliberately communal remarks have prompted a raft of complaints from Indian journalists, academics, lawyers and political experts, who have urged the country’s Election Commission to take immediate action.
Renowned Indian TV journalist and author Ravish Kumar called Modi’s remarks “shameful” and said many people were now “searching for the Election Commission” to act.
“For how long have votes been being sought in the name of the temple and Ram?” he asked in Hindi on X, referring to a controversial temple in Ayodhya dedicated to the Hindu god Ram that was built on the site of a destroyed mosque.
Dr. Renu Poonia, an official with the government’s Electronic Media Monitoring Centre in Rajasthan, has told This Week in Asia that it had also received complaints about Modi’s speech and “due process into the matter has been initiated.”
Desperate attempts to salvage a sinking ship
Despite the controversy caused, political theorist Gudavarthy predicted that Modi’s remarks at Sunday’s rally would do little to move the needle in the BJP’s favor.
“Muslim bashing has stopped helping them, as it is not adding any new votes or new sections of society,” Gudavarthy told This Week in Asia, adding that the BJP was merely consolidating its existing voter base with such remarks.
Apoorvanand, a political commentator and professor at Delhi University who only goes by one name, called Modi a “habitual offender” for invoking communal hatred against Muslims.
“He has been using anti-Muslim tropes since the beginning of the campaign, it is only that the media had been playing it down until now,” Apoorvanand said, pointing to past remarks Modi made in Uttar Pradesh about Muslims supposedly forcing Hindus to sell their houses, or his claim earlier this month that Congress’ election manifesto carried pro-Muslim overtones with “every page reeking of breaking India into pieces.”
“The PM is a habitual offender, as are other BJP leaders,” Apoorvanand said. “Yet no action has been taken against any of them, and they are acting with impunity.”
“This time it was open and brazen, that is why it was very revolting to people,” he said, pointing out that the Election Commission had taken action against other parties for their words and actions, such as the ultranationalist Shiv Sena, but was failing to do so when it came to the BJP.
“The PM is a habitual offender, as are other BJP leaders,” Apoorvanand said. “Yet no action has been taken against any of them, and they are acting with impunity.”
Opposition figure Rahul Gandhi, a former Congress president and still a leading light within the party, accused Modi of sowing the seeds of hatred to boost support for the BJP after he said it had underwhelmed at the polls.
“After the disappointment in the first phase of voting, the level of Narendra Modi’s lies has fallen so much that out of fear, he now wants to divert the attention of the public from the issues,” Gandhi wrote on social media.
“The country will now vote on its issues, vote for employment, family, and future. India will not go astray.”
Frustration after cold response from voters
“The very mention of Muslims has livened up this election for BJP workers,” Upadhyay observed.
Senior journalist Vijay Upadhyay says that the way the first phase of elections - for 104 Lok Sabha seats - took place on April 19, it punctured the BJP’s plan to build up hysteria for Modi, as the party machinery managed to in 2014 and 2019. “BJP and PM Modi seem to be addicted to mammoth displays of passion from followers when it comes to the PM’s rallies or response of voters in North-Central India on polling days. This time however, BJP’s slogans like Modi Ki Guarantee, Viksit Bharat and other poster issues have failed to warm up people. It’s been quite evident and thus BJP seems to be returning to its tested and traditional pitch of polarization along communal lines,” he said in an interview with a news portal.
He however added that Modi’s Rajasthan speech on Sunday rejuvenated the party's otherwise lackadaisical workers. “The very mention of Muslims has livened up this election for BJP workers,” Upadhyay observed.
Kubool Qureshi, a political analyst, shared his observations with The Friday Times, suggesting that the desperate tactic of Modi and BJP to flare up communal passions will not yield the desired results. “Muslims have shown utter prudence by maintaining silence. They are not biting the bait and reacting at all. This time the opposition has also entered the electoral fray with a very strategic approach. It has also not reacted emotionally. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi responded to Modi in a very measured speech. Thus, the desired communal polarization that BJP is striving to generate has remained invisible so far. It will not bode well for the saffron party and the lotus (BJP’s election symbol) may remain only half-bloomed,” said Qureshi.
Meanwhile, Rajesh Thakur, a correspondent with The New Indian Express who has been covering BJP for decades, returned from Bihar after a rigorous tour. He shared his insights with The Friday Times.
“Last time, the BJP-alliance had won 39 out of 40 seats in the state. This time, they seem slated to garner a maximum of 20-25 seats. The electorate’s first choice seems to be Lalu Yadav’s RJD and its allies. Even though Modi is popular with people, BJP’s local candidates have lost touch with the ground. This is what is actually working against BJP,” he said.
So, even if Modi’s communal frenzy soars, the electoral prospects of his party keep plummeting.