Bengaluru: Ever since the Congress announced last week that it would “ban” the Bajrang Dal if voted to power in Karnataka, the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been slamming the Congress for allegedly insulting lord Hanuman. The Congress, in its manifesto had alleged that outfits like Bajrang Dal “promote enmity” among communities and promised decisive action on it if voted to power in the 10 May elections.
However, the voters in Karnataka appear to be more concerned with issues such as employment opportunities, inflation and access to bank loans, rather than political squabbles.
ThePrint travelled across Bengaluru to gauge whether this new turn in the BJP’s campaign has changed the mood on the ground.
Barely 500 metres from Karnataka BJP’s headquarters in Malleshwaram — the constituency of state minister and party legislator C.N. Ashwath Narayan — is the Sri Gangamma Devi Temple.
A 70-year-old woman, who has been selling prasad outside the temple for the past 23 years, told ThePrint that she hadn’t heard about Bajrang Dal or the BJP’s attack on the Congress over the promise of a ‘ban’. “Our life has become difficult because of the price increase every month,” she said. “There is no cap on that.” She didn’t seem inclined to vote for the BJP.
Close by sat two devotees, Kumar and Prashant — both BJP supporters, but neither cared about the Bajrang Dal issue. According to them, it is the PM’s popularity that will fetch the party votes.
“Bajrang Dal is not an issue…nobody can ban it and nobody is going to vote for the BJP because of it,” said Kumar. “It’s Modi’s work…he has helped people during Covid by providing vaccines and saving lives.”
Suresh, who works at the temple, added that it was the late Congress leader, B.K. Hariprasad, who helped in the construction of many temples in the state. “Modi has done nothing… Congress’s image has been tarnished as an anti-Hindu party but that’s not true,” he said.
Few kilometers away in Basavanagudi is the 15th-century Nandi Temple. At the temple entrance, Girija, who has been selling Ganesh idols for the past 13 years, said PM Modi is like “God” to her. However, she had a request. “No banks give loans to the poor like me…(PM) should allow services like Aadhaar card registration or opening of Jan Dhan accounts at doorstep,” she told ThePrint.
Both Malleswaram and Basavanagudi are a BJP stronghold.
Bengaluru has become a battle of prestige for the BJP which is fighting anti-incumbency in the state. Facing severe backlash due to civic issues like flooding during the monsoon, traffic woes and depleting lakes, the party hopes that PM Modi’s charisma will help in the capital city.
Even in the urban parts of Bengaluru, Modi’s popularity weighs over the Bajrang Dal even if the BJP is trying hard to consolidate its core Hindutva vote bank while derailing the Congress campaign in the state. To be sure, senior Congress leaders such as state unit chief D.K. Shivakumar and former CM Siddaramaiah, who have been attacking the BJP government over local issues, also began visiting temples once the controversy broke out.
Shivakumar even said the party will oversee the development of Hanuman temples across the state. He has visited the Anjanadri Hill which is one of the places believed to be the birthplace of the deity.
Speaking to ThePrint in the BJP Bengaluru office, Union minister Rajiv Chandrasekhar said his party didn’t raise the issue. It was the Congress that promised the “ban”. “We are only exposing (them) before the public,” he said.
Speaking to ThePrint, S.Y. Surendra, a professor of political science at the Bangalore University, told ThePrint, “The Bajrang Dal issue is not a game changer. It will not have a major impact on the election results but, to a certain extent, it will neutralise anti-incumbency.”
“It can also help in breaking backward caste consolidation in favour of the Congress…Since Modi is using his persona and his work as the main narrative, nobody is talking about (CM Basavaraj) Bommai’s track record. It’s a clever ploy with the Congress forced to only react to the BJP’s narrative.”
According to Ramalinga Reddy, working president of Congress-Karnataka, these are diversionary tactics by the BJP. “They don’t want to face elections with their track record of governance. That is why they are diverting from the real issue of corruption and (lack of) development,” he said to ThePrint.
Congress spokesperson Prof. Gourav Vallabh said, “We worship Bajrang Bali every day. Bajrang Bali destroyed Lanka and it will now destroy the BJP’s Lanka of corruption on 13 May (counting day).”
The Bajrang Dal controversy
The Bajrang Dal — which takes its name from Bajrang Bali, or Lord Hanuman — is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and a Sangh constituent. In its manifesto, the Congress compared the Bajrang Dal to the banned Islamic organisation Popular Front of India (PFI).
Following this, Bajrang Dal reportedly pressed a Rs 100 crore defamation charge against the Congress. Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi, campaigning in the election-bound state this weekend, kept the focus on the deity during his road shows.
Both coastal and north Karnataka are BJP strongholds but the latter votes on caste, as voting trends over the years have shown. But Bajrang Dal has a strong presence in coastal Karnataka.
Soon after the controversy broke out, the BJP organised Hanuman Chalisa recitals across the state. But the promised ‘ban’ and the BJP’s effort to milk the issue may not bring it the desired results in other parts of the state.
At a local ice-cream parlour in Jayanagar, Mithun, a civil services aspirant and from the Lingayat community, told ThePrint that he is focused on employment opportunities.
“Every government promises employment but that doesn’t really happen. Every year, jobs are getting fewer,” he said. “I will vote on the leadership…the BJP would’ve easily got the majority if Yediyurappa was the CM…now it looks uncertain.”
In Jayanagar, which is a Congress bastion and a part of the Bengaluru South constituency, the BJP has fielded C.K. Ramamurthy in the hope of wresting the seat from the sitting Congress MLA Sowmya Reddy.
On the Bengaluru-Mysuru Road is a famous Hanuman temple — the Gali Anjaneya Temple. Built in the 15th century, it highlights how a civic issue can easily turn into a political one. Locals shared how water has flooded the temple premises multiple times during the monsoon. Devotees have raised the issue with the civic authorities, but to no avail, they said.
Akhilesh, who had recently bought a car, was visiting the temple to offer prayers and seek the deity’s blessings for his purchase. “The Congress should have not have done this…,” he said, adding that the outfit and Lord Hanuman should not be linked. However, he said his vote will go to Modi, “as he is doing a good job”.
Change in tactics
As soon as the Congress announced its promise of reining in Bajrang Dal if voted to power, the BJP was quick on the uptake. It changed its campaign narrative to attack the Congress for insulting Bajrang Bali. In several of his rallies, PM Modi has invoked the deity to attack his rivals, even asking the public to chant ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ while holding aloft their respective cell phones with flashlights on.
At a rally, he said, “Please cast your vote and don’t forget to chant ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ when you exercise your right to vote.”
Addressing a BJP rally last Tuesday in Karnataka’s Vijayanagara district, PM Modi alleged, “The Congress had earlier locked up Lord Ram, now it wants to lock up those who chant ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’.”
The next day, to further galvanise the party cadre, he chanted ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ in all the three public meetings he addressed across Karnataka, along with a call of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.
This weekend, in the PM’s roadshows both Saturday and Sunday, loudspeakers blared chants of ‘Bajrang Bali ki Jai’ while the deity’s cutouts dominated the backdrop.
Several BJP leaders and supporters came dressed as lord Hanuman, or wearing a mask of the deity to mark their protest against the Congress. Many such masks were also distributed along the route.
The BJP is looking to consolidate its position in urban Bengaluru which has 28 seats and the party itself is on thin ice over civic issues. In 2018, it won just 11 seats and needs to win here decisively for a shot at getting a majority. In coastal Karnataka and Kodagu, the party won 18 of the 21 seats in the last elections but it might be tough to replicate that performance.
A local BJP leader said to ThePrint that raising the Bajrang Dal issue may help divert attention from local civic issues, adding that bringing the PM for roadshows was a well-planned strategy for infusing energy into the voters.
“Knowing that Bengaluru has a history of low turnout on voting days, this type of Hindutva push, with the PM’s roadshow, will be a game changer for the party in the last leg of campaign,” he said.
Hindutva push in coastal belt
A senior BJP leader involved in campaign management told ThePrint, “Election is all about narrative and strategy. Initially, we were responding to the Congress on their corruption charges.”
“Now that they’ve given us an issue, we shifted focus to Bajrang Bali as the state has a huge number of the deity’s temples. We know that the issue will not get us traction all over the state but our cadre will be energised, particularly in the coastal belt,” he added.
“Once the PM asked the public to chant ‘Bajrang Bali ki Jai’, the messaging travels to other districts too. The Congress junked their own strategy and got all defensive, responding to us,” he added.
Another BJP leader told ThePrint, “Our feedback (from ground workers) was that we were losing many seat in coastal Karnataka but since the Bajrang Bali issue, we are back in the game and have somewhat diluted the anti-incumbency factor on many seats in the coastal belt.”
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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