Kolkata: A month after his convoy was stoned, BJP’s national president J.P. Nadda was back in West Bengal for a day-long farmer outreach programme Saturday that merged with the party’s campaign in the poll-bound state.
But, apart from holding roadshows and meeting farmers through a door-to-door campaign, the BJP chief also gave his party’s electoral campaign a new slogan — ‘Jai Ma Durga, Jai Ma Kali’, adapting the BJP’s ‘Jai Shree Ram’ chant for a Bengali audience.
While senior party leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah, kept to chanting ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ at the recent public meetings held in the state, ‘Jai Shree Ram’ has remained the primary slogan among workers and supporters.
Political observers say this ‘Begalisation’ of the BJP’s core slogans is interesting since it shows the party is changing some of its basic policies.
Bengalis traditionally worship goddesses, and Durga and Kali are their main deities. Worship of Krishna or Ram also feature in their religious traditions, but is not a part of the main festivals celebrated.
A senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity, said, “Bengalis are emotionally attached to Ma Kali and Ma Durga. We see them as members of a family. Moreover, Ma Kali is the Goddess of power and resolve. It is easier to reach Bengali household that way. We keep evolving and changing policies depending on the ground level inputs.”
Also read: ‘Jai Shree Ram’ gives way to ‘Maa Kali’ as BJP tries to shed outsider tag in Mamata’s Bengal
From Ram to Durga, Kali
The BJP’s Bengali spin on ‘Jai Shree Ram’, that too introduced by a top rung BJP leader, carries political connotations.
Political observers say this is the national party’s way of trying to counter Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her ruling Trinamool Congress, both of which have been seeped into Bengal’s political fabric for decades. In comparison, the BJP is only just breaking political ground in the state.
The Trinamool has often used this fact to attack BJP leaders as ‘outsiders’ and calls it a ‘party of the cow-belt’.
What is more telling though is the shift to political sloganeering, given that Bengal has never witnessed religious sloganeering or chanting of deity names during campaigns, a transition the BJP is forcing.
The BJP’s own shift in policy is also interesting, said political analyst Biswanath Chakraborti.
“A party that has primary influence over north Indian states, and worships Ram, is changing its basic policies to gain more attention in Bengal. It will be interesting to see what response they get to such campaigns. We have not seen BJP leaders chanting names of goddesses ever. In fact, they courted controversy after removing ‘Siya’ and made it only about ‘Ram’ in Uttar Pradesh. The same party is shouting ‘Jai Ma Durga’ and ‘Jai Ma Kali’,” he said.
“‘Jai Ma Kali’ is accepted across religions in the state. We know that a section of Muslims, primarily converts, worship Ma Kali in some rural areas in the state. But, ‘Jai Shree Ram’ cannot make that outreach. It is a matter of strategy for BJP,” he pointed out.
Also read: With Jai Sri Ram, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is trapped
Farmer outreach
Nadda, who was in the state to launch a farmer’s outreach programme, defended the contentious farm bills saying they were aimed at providing “freedom to farmers”.
Speaking at a public rally, he said his party and the BJP-led central government will always protect farmers’ interest and assured the state’s farmers will get all central benefits from May this year.
He also targeted the state’s ruling party Trinamool Congress by calling it “rice thieves” who survive on “cut money” (extortion).
The outreach programme is set to continue till 24 January.
BJP workers are expected to visit 40,000 villages in this time. After this, party workers will conduct a ‘Krishak Bhoj’ (lunch with farmers) till 31 January. During all this time, the party will explain what injustice is being done to farmers in West Bengal, Nadda said at the rally.
Nadda himself had lunch at the house of a farmer, Mathura Mondal, in Katwa with other leaders. His visit to Bardhaman Purba, an agrarian belt that is often referred to as the rice bowl of the state, is being seen as an attempt to reach out to farmers more directly in the state.
“Today, I heard that Mamata ji has written to the Prime Minister saying that her government is willing to implement PM Kisan. Now, when you find that you are losing support base, you want to implement the scheme. We don’t require your consent now. The next elected government of BJP will implement the scheme in May 2021 in Bengal,” he said.
The BJP chief further added that Mamata Banerjee’s government ignored several requests by the Centre in the past two years to implement the financial benefit scheme that promises Rs 6,000 annually to eligible farmers.
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