High on Raj’s decibels, major political parties possessed by Hindutva

Grand Hanuman Jayanti celebrations, recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa and maha-aartis keeping politicians busy

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray has not been able to convert his fan base into votes in the last two elections, but he has the knack for setting the cat among the pigeons. He is a detonator who is said to be blasting bombs that aren’t necessarily made by him. The Hindutva sentiment that is featuring prominently in state politics again—after the Shiv Sena’s own saffron agenda came under scrutiny following its union with secular parties—has been appropriated by the MNS, along with the Bharatiya Janata Party. In the wake of Raj’s call for playing Hanuman Chalisa in front the mosques if the loudspeakers are not removed by May 3, the Sena and its ruling partners, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress, have come out in the open to celebrate Hanuman Jayanti and cite the verse. The harbinger of strength and devotion and an astute bhakt of Lord Ram, Hanuman ji trended last weekend like never before. We were flooded with messages from leaders from across parties, about them visiting Hanuman Jayanti celebrations across the state. The leaders seemed to have travelled between the places of worship faster than Lord Hanuman’s aerial sorties in the Ramayana.

With everyone scurrying to prove their Hindutva credentials, Ayodhya’s Lord Ram, the turning point of the country’s politics, will have Raj and his Sena minister nephew, Aaditya Thackeray, praying at the under construction Ram Janmabhoomi site. Raj said he will be there at the epicentre of Hindutva on June 5. Aaditya’s itinerary has not been announced yet. Both parties have promised a show of strength during their visit. The significance of grand Hanuman Jayanti celebrations and proposed Ayodhya visits is that the saffron cousins—the MNS and the Sena—don’t wish to hand over the advantage to each other ahead of the municipal polls, and thereafter when the big test beckons in terms of the general and Assembly elections. The Congress and NCP have been trying to polish their secular side. The Sena has insisted that it has never dropped Hindutva, which isn’t the BJP or MNS kind. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party will have to prove its different Hindutva while others have raised their decibel levels to impress the voters with a hard-core ideology.

Raj’s political ploys and shifting positions have been audited for the benefits they have extended to others. The beneficiaries were different when he split Sena’s votes. He hasn’t repeated that electoral performance. After praising PM Narendra Modi, he slammed the leader in his not-yet-forgotten ‘Lav rey toh video’ (play that video) series of public rallies. He has explained the shift, saying he would criticise Modi yet again, if needed. “But this time around, it is the turn of the MVA,” he said, targeting NCP boss Sharad Pawar very extensively and sharply. Pawar, despite saying that Raj, who speaks once in a year, didn’t warrant his attention, responded to the allegations. Raj succeeded in dragging Pawar and his NCP into the battle, and the BJP jumped on to the bandwagon. Now, Pawar has ‘two’ to be taken on using his political wisdom. Raj will play his next round at a public rally in Aurangabad on May 1, Maharashtra’s Foundation Day. Naturally, the occasion would demand that he blend ‘the sons of the soil’ agenda, which is dear to the Sena, with Hindutva.

While Raj is out with all guns blazing, observers say the BJP is going to benefit more from it than the MNS. Riding on the hot air that Raj has created, the BJP stepped up Hindutva while campaigning in North Kolhapur’s Assembly by-election, but couldn’t stop the MVA-backed Congress from winning. The BJP credited the Congress victory to a sympathy wave for the ex-MLA’s widow who contested the by-poll. The MVA says the people have rejected the communal agenda, but it cannot ignore the fact that the BJP has almost doubled its vote share from 40,000 in 2014 to 77,000 in 2022. Whose votes were they? It is for the parties concerned to find out whether the fanning of Hindutva together by Raj and BJP did it in a segment that the Sena had lost to the Congress.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore
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