The Sangh, its affiliates and the 'Right' seem quite satisfied with Arvind Kejriwal's Hanuman Mandir visit, and as long as he continues to walk the same path, the saffron brigade cannot be happier.
RSS General Secretary Suresh 'Bhaiyyaji' Joshi recently said that opposing the BJP must not be equated to going against the Hindus. But this is not something new. It is a stated position of the Sangh.
And the Aam Aadmi Party chief’s walking down the auspicious ground in the heart of the capital gave a new meaning to the ‘ideological victory’ of Kejriwal practicing majoritarian politics.
Kejriwal Invokes ‘Hanuman ji’ to Counter Hindutva Politics
Though the Sangh would rather call it ‘Indic politics’, Rajiv Tuli, a member of the Delhi executive of the RSS, is unpretentious about this new avatar of Kejriwal.
"Dekhiye, baat saaf hai , jo Hindu hit ki baat karega, wohi desh pe raaj karega,” (The matter is very clear, whoever will talk for the welfare of Hindus will eventually rule) Tuli said, and when asked if it does not matter whether the party is BJP or Aam Aadmi Party, Tuli said Bhaiyaji has made it "abundantly clear".
He cites Veer Savarkar to assert that the Sangh is not neutral but an ideology-based party. Hence, according to him, Savarkar dreamt of a pro-Hindu ruling party as well as a pro-Hindu Opposition.
This assertion comes close on the heels of Kejriwal reinventing himself.
As the Delhi polls’ results came out on Tuesday, a revamped Arvind Kejriwal emerged, invoking 'Hanuman ji' to counter BJP's Hindutva politics.
A day before election results, the Delhi Chief Minister had already announced his intention to visit the Hanuman temple at Connaught Place.
It's the very same Kejriwal who had come under criticism for being regularly seen in iftars. But after the stupendous victory in which he trounced the BJP, Kejriwal literally took out a grand rally to the famous Hanuman Mandir in the heart of the capital.
When Ideology Trumps Party
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s, the most influential Sangh affiliate that spearheaded the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the late 80s and 90s, General Secretary Milind Parande wasn't very articulate in his position but welcomed this brand of politics.
“You know, we don’t comment on Sangh. When Bhaiyaji has said what he said, that is the last word. We too stand by that,” Parande told IANS.
A key Sangh functionary who has been working on the Eastern Zone of India and has worked on crucial states like West Bengal told IANS on condition of anonymity that it’s the ideology that matters, not the party.
“This is just the beginning of an era where you have to be seen working for Hindus if you want to be electorally relevant. This is a bigger victory than BJP coming to power. Now you will have many BJPs,” he insisted, over the phone.
Bengal VHP Sourish Mukherjee who has been instrumental in districts like Purulia, from where BJP made its inroads into West Bengal during a bloody and violence-ridden Panchayat poll in 2018 told IANS that it's the ideology that forced "those who opposed Jai Shri Ram to be seen as celebrating Durga Puja".
His reference was to Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who courted controversy over her animated objection to the religious slogan, time and again.
A polarised Bengal dented her electorally in the 2019 General elections, when the BJP jumped up to 18 seats.
‘Sangh & BJP Are Not the Same Thing’
This Delhi election, words like 'Biryani', 'Mughal', 'Burqa' were used intermittently by BJP leaders, including its firebrand Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanatha to drive home one point: "either you are with Shaheen Bagh or against Shaheen Bagh".
While Manish Sisodia once said that he stands with the protesters, he did not repeat the same again. Kejriwal refused to extend similar support.
During his victory speech, he sought “blessings” from the Hindu God to run Delhi effectively. Kejriwal is mindful that Shaheen Bagh politics may not have dented his electoral chances, but has polarised Delhi.
Tuli, beaming with a smile, reasons, "Now the politics of iftar and headgears are over."
Just a few days ago, Joshi, responding to a question: “Why are Hindus becoming the enemy of their own community?” told a gathering, “We should not consider opposition to BJP as opposition to Hindus. It is a political fight that will continue. That should not be linked with Hindus.”
It created confusion.
However, those who have followed Sangh would know this has been a long-standing position of the Sangh. As the Sangh functionary from the Eastern Zone insisted, "The Sangh and the BJP are not the same thing. They (BJP) are closest to our ideology. That's it."
Does that mean Sangh is happy with this new avatar of Kejriwal?
"Why not? We welcome more political outfits to walk the Hindutva path. Hindutva has been made to sound like a bad word," he added.
Kejriwal is not just the darling of liberals but seemingly a darling of the 'Right' as well.
(Published in an arrangement with IANS. This piece has been edited for clarity.)
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