(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 will not only not help the party but also prove to be detrimental in the long run. Read the opposing arguments here.)
Temple hopping and photo ops with a variety of Hindu spiritual leaders have become an ingrained routine for politicians, particularly in election bond states. Not surprisingly, soon after Priyanka Vadra released the five promises made by the Congress to the voters of Madhya Pradesh, she went to the revered Mahakal shrine in Ujjain.
Former chief minister Kamal Nath who aspires to recapture the chair from Shiv Raj Singh Chauhan too has been hobnobbing with priests and promising to free all temples of the state from government control if he is voted back to power. This Congress waltz with soft Hindutva is a recent phenomenon. The “legendary” AK Anthony report post the 2014 Lok Sabha debacle reportedly says that the average Hindu voter had started perceiving the Congress to be a “Muslim” party.
Since then, the invocation of “Janeudhari” Hindu heritage has become the leitmotif for Congress leaders desperate to stop the BJP juggernaut. Many Congress leaders want the party to pitch this soft Hindutva even more aggressively during the forthcoming election campaign in Madhya Pradesh.