Last week, on 2 April, the state headquarters of the Madhya Pradesh Congress turned saffron for the first meeting of the priest cell constituted by the party ahead of the state Assembly elections 2023.
As the party office got laden with saffron flags and the priests filled the main hall, MP Congress president Kamal Nath said:
"Does the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) have copyright on the saffron colour? I proudly say that I am a Hindu but I am not stupid. We do not do the politics of religion."
This wasn't the first attempt, but one in a long row of activities taken up by Kamal Nath to help with his Hindu leader image. Earlier, his meetings with self-styled godman Dhirendra Krishna Shastri – popularly known as Bageshwar Dham Sarkar – in February 2023 reignited the debate of the Congress' stand on Hindutva and its way forward.
Despite Kamal Nath's emphasis on 'not' doing the politics of religion, there is a very real dilemma that the Congress is facing – on whether or not it should play the 'Hindu card'. Some within the Congress say that there's no way but to engage with this space, while others warn that the party shouldn't fall into the BJP's trap.
This question came up even at the Congress plenary in Chhattisgarh's Raipur in February earlier this year.
As Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel addressed the gathering on the second day of the plenary session, the mention of Kaushalya Mata and Shabari (Hindu mythological figures) in his speech, nudged a young Congress leader, sitting in the AICC delegates section, to turn around and say:
'Ye chhodenge nahi na Hindu hone ka tamga' ('They won't stop wearing the label of being a Hindu.')
'If BJP Says Jai Shri Ram, Congress Should Say Poverty, Jobs...'
Some of the delegates The Quint had met at the plenary said that the party is playing into the hands of the BJP. However, a majority of them sided with the current strategy – and said that "if the public needs reassurance that the Congress is not anti-Hindu, they should get it".
"They (BJP) are better at using religion to get votes. We aren't. They have ensured that we don't get votes on the basis of our religious stand. So I don't know why our senior leaders are continuing walking down the same road. Go talk about jobs, food, climate change. They should prepare an agenda and action plan to talk about the real issues, and it should have inputs from all around."Congress leader
Another young female leader added that the party needs to focus on issues important to the public – and remind them what's important:
"If the BJP says Jai Shri Ram, the Congress should say poverty, unemployment, and a thousand other things. The leaders have to talk to younger leaders, and open a dialogue with the last worker so that the issues are countered on the ground. The decisions taken in the meetings in a closed room haven't been able to counter this so far."
Another senior Congress leader from Chhattisgarh noted, "The Congress is not anti-Hindu, but the BJP has been able to portray us in that way. We are all-inclusive and that doesn't mean anti-Hindu. Having said that, it's also a fact that the BJP may have been able to shape public perception. Now, we are willing to put it out in the open like the BJP does".
With elections around the corner in five states, including three north Indian states, the Congress faces a tough challenge in taking on the BJP's agenda in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan where communal tensions have seen an increase in the last few years.
'No One Can Say That CM Baghel is Anti-Hindu'
While Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh has not shied away from portraying himself as a Hindu leader, in Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has constantly pushed his soft Hindu leader image by being involved in pro-Hindu religious activities.
His government is constructing the Ram Van Gaman Path – the path that Lord Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana took during their 'vanvaas' – along with the construction of Hindu temples. However, he has combined his 'Hindu leader' image with his regional identity – the 'Chhattisgarhiya' leader taking pride in 'everything Chhattisgarh'.
A young MLA from South India, while commenting on the Congress' counter to the BJP's Hindutva narrative, told The Quint that the party should continue down the road they are following and should strategise based on the situation in the respective states.
"When you talk about religious extremism, it is different in different states. Hence, the strategies would also differ state-wise. You see, Mr Baghel is countering it by emphasising on the regional identity and by not allowing the BJP to portray him as anti-Hindu," he said.
He added that Chhattisgarh has devised a good strategy to counter the BJP's Hindutva – and that the Congress in Chhattisgarh is doing it right.
"No one can say that Mr Baghel is anti-Hindu. He has constructed temples, Ram Van Gaman project and many other things. Simultaneously, he has publicly endorsed the idea of Chhattisgarhiya identity, and hence, the BJP is left with no choice here".
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