Backlash Over Congress Promise To Ban Bajrang Dal
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2023-05-04 06:42:24
About the Author
The
Congress stand of equating the Bajrang Dal with the Popular Front of India
(PFI) and talking about banning the former if it comes to power in Karnataka in
its election manifesto for the state has resulted in a strong backlash. Apart
from the BJP which has gone to town to paint the Congress as anti-Hindu, there
is anger in the public too. Many in the state Congress think that this is
blunder which will cost the party dearly as many Hindus are likely to turn
against it. The party has clarified that it has only said that whichever
organization tries to disrupt peace in Karnataka will be banned, it is clear
that the damage has been done.
It seems
that the Congress was trying to woo Muslim votes in a state that has seen
disruptions over the hijab, halal meat and Muslim shops in Hindu temple fairs,
among other things. But it seems to have miscalculated. The Muslims in the
state were in any case unlikely to vote for the BJP. But with the latest
manifesto 'blunder' the Congress seems to have angered a section of Hindus. How
this is going to affect voting remains to be seen but in Karnataka, starting
from Prime Minister Modi downwards, the BJP has made Jai Bajrangbali the war
cry for now to rub salt in the Congress' wounds.
It seems
that close to polling day, the Congress has hit a self goal. The Karnataka
polls were headed for a close finish with indications of a hung assembly. But
the Congress might have made things difficult for itself by naming Bajrang Dal
in its manifesto. Although the BJP is upbeat that it can use the Congress 'blunder' to its advantage, it remains to be seen how it will affect voting patterns in a
state more concerned about caste equations.
