(In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, three states will see bipolar contests between the Congress and BJP – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. The recent political moves in MP by Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Priyanka Gandhi appear to be aimed at 'appeasing' the Hindu vote, triggering a debate around the utility and practicality of 'soft Hindutva' as a campaign strategy. This article argues that such tactics are necessary for Congress' survival in order to tackle the BJP head-on in the upcoming elections. Read the counterview here.)
The Congress' attempts to play the 'Hindu card' to counter the BJP - the latest example being Priyanka Gandhi and Kamal Nath taking part in a Narmada Aarti in Jabalpur - shouldn't come as a surprise.
This is nothing but a result of what the BJP managed to achieve in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The impact of the BJP's win was evident from the moment the 17th Lok Sabha was sworn-in. One of the most vivid images of the swearing-in ceremony was of Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh-Dastidar shouting 'Joy Kali Maa' in response to BJP MPs heckling her with 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans.
Ghosh-Dastidar may have given a spirited fightback at that moment, but it was the sign of a bigger political victory for the BJP - it had forced the Opposition to play on the pitch of Hindu assertion.