‘BJP Will Work Only For Hindus’ Slogan Gaining Momentum Against Modi’s ‘Sabka Sath’

Senior BJP leaders engaging in solecism in Uttar Pradesh and Bengal certainly can not be described as factional feud. Instead it unravels the contagious malaise that afflicts the party, endangering its current level of functioning. It may sound to be baloney, but the party imbibing the Hindutva cause has never been faced with this nature of crisis; emergence of rebellion against the top leadership of the party. There is no doubt it has deeper and wider implication and dynamics than it appears to be. It ought to be not forgotten that these two states had played crucial role in defeating Narendra Modi and shattering the myth of his “Modi’s Guarantees”.

Though simmering discontent against Narendra Modi and his brand of politics was discernible for quite some time in the two states, no one ever imagined that it would surface so soon. While in UP, the BJP chief minister Yogi Adityanath did not hesitate in putting the blame on Modi for the defeat of the party in Lok Sabha election, the Leader of opposition in Bengal assembly, outright rejected the political line of Modi. In UP the leaders engaged in worst nature of attrition and accusations in the presence of their national president J P Nadda.

Significantly in both the states, the leaders chose the state executive meet to blurt out against Modi. Yogi blamed that overconfidence of the national leaders has impacted BJP’s electoral performance, pointing out how the opposition, previously dispirited, now appears rejuvenated after their electoral gains. He underlined the ambiguous stand of the party leadership in the matter of reservation which helped the opposition to push “fake narratives”. He also said “When we assume with such confidence that we are winning, naturally we have to pay the price. The opposition, which had lost heart before the election, is now working with a renewed spring in their step”.

The deputy chief minister, Keshav Prasad Maurya nevertheless put hard efforts to defend Modi and his politics, he could not convince the house and carry the members with his argument. His logic sounded simply rhetoric: “In BJP’s scheme, the organization always takes precedence over government and it is, therefore, incumbent upon all ministers, MLAs, and public representatives to respect workers and take care of their dignity. I am a party worker first and Deputy CM second.”

Maurya a protégé of Amit Shah attempted countering Yogi’s accusation against central leadership, obliquely Modi, for its defeat in the Lok Sabha. The deliberations at the BJP’s state executive made it abundantly clear that party is vertically split on the line of pro-Modi and anti-Modi. Leaders confide that Maurya was fighting a proxy war against Yogi with the backing from Delhi.

Coinciding with the Lucknow meet, in Calcutta, senior BJP leader and leader of the opposition in assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, brazenly asked BJP workers, at the extended state executive committee meeting at the Science City auditorium in front of central BJP leaders, party’s Bengal minder Sunil Bansal and Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who chaired the meeting, to discard Narendra Modi’s Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas slogan and replace it with his slogan “Jo Hamare Sath, Hum Unkey Sath”.

Though he rejected Modi’s line, he advised the party leadership to aggressively pursue Hindutva politics, making it clear that he was not opposed to Modi’s politics of Hindutva. He said the party should stand by none but Hindus, as only they vote for the BJP, Adhikari also suggested the dissolution of the party’s minority wing. “We will save Hindus and save the Constitution. I also spoke for the nationalist Muslims earlier. But in future I will speak only of Hindus. I will not say that anymore. Rather, Stop (saying) Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas. There is no need for a Minority Morcha.”

In 2014, Prime Minister Modi had coined the Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas slogan, and in 2019 he added Sabka Vishwas (everybody’s trust) to it. Just before 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he added Sabka Prayas (everybody’s effort) to it. Adhikari, a turncoat, setting his own parallel political line and outright rejecting Modi brand of politics has to be seen and evaluated in proper perspective. He is certainly not Yogi of Uttar Pradesh. Yogi has his own support base and even then he cannot think of openly challenging his authority. Obviously question arises where from Adhikari got the motivation to question Modi.

Insiders maintain that with Bengal attaining high order of political significance, a keen rivalry has emerged in the RSS and the BJP leadership to control the politics of the state. RSS through its sakhas has been active in the state for quite long and has set up nearly 2000 units. The state has witnessed phenomenal rise of RSS. It has also launched special programmes for youths to connect them with the RSS’ ideology. Most of the growth of the RSS has been noticed in the bordering districts. RSS has also been able to make its presence felt in districts like Malda and Uttar Dinajpur, comprising about 51% and 50% Muslim populations respectively.

RSS is worried at the existing political situation in the state. The leaders confess that state has not witnessed such an anti-Hindu government like the present TMC rule. Hindus here have realised that the RSS is the only option to protect their rights and their religious identities in West Bengal. Exploiting the alleged “appeasement” politics of the Trinamool Congress government RSS has been able to increase its membership in the state by almost 50% in the last ten years. One thing is clear before the RSS leadership that in order to expand in the state and have a deep anchor it must rope in the Hindus. Suvendu by rejecting the line of Modi has literally endorsed the policy of RSS.

In BJP circles, while Adhikari is known to be a protégé of Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath is supposed to be close to RSS. For last couple of years Modi and Amit Shah have been trying to replace him but could not succeed in their mission as RSS favoured his continuance. In RSS he is rated as the much precious Hindu face, even more relevant than Modi. A section of the top RSS leadership nurse the feeling that whatever seat BJP could win in UP owes to Yogi. But this is not endorsed by some of the Modi-Amit loyalists. They accuse Yogi of alienating the Dalits and OBCs and they also attribute the shift of this section of the voters to Yogi’s policies of relying on upper caste Hindus, especially Rajputs.

Bansal and Khattar not questioning Adhikari or stopping him from asking him to refrain from criticising the political line of Modi has caused consternation in the party circles. Though state president Sukanta Majumdar did not endorse Adhikari’s comment, claiming that he was only a delegate to the meeting and had no role in fixing the party’s policy, he did not question his act. He tried to play safe by saying “BJP considers Muslims like poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as assets of our country. The BJP will continue with this policy. What Suvendu Adhikari said is his personal opinion and not the party’s stand. Modi said in a meeting in Hyderabad last year that we would reach out to the Muslims, especially those who are backward, without expecting their votes.”

It is really inconceivable that a person like Suvendu could muster courage to challenge the political line of the supreme leader of the party. It is completely against the political ethos as well as political line of the central BJP leadership. It is indeed shocking for Narendra Modi that he is forced to hear from his party leaders in Bengal that his slogan will not continue any more.

Though at the meet some leaders dismissed Suvendu’s alternate line, the sources maintain that by and large all the leaders nurse the belief that Modi and Shah have failed the state. Both these Gujarati leaders could not comprehend the Bengali ethics and culture and tried to bulldoze the people of the state using their own perception. They were more concerned of promoting the business interest of their Gujarati businessmen. Similar feeling also reverberates the political corridor. The local entrepreneurs and even the sugar producers were feeling dejected.

The immediate reason for challenging the authority and leadership of Modi owes to two factors; first holding of assembly elections in Jharkhand, Haryana and Maharashtra. The RSS and the anti-Modi BJP leaders do not want Modi to choose the candidates as he has been doing in the past. Second, they also desire that the name of the new president to replace Nadda must be announced before August, while Modi and Shah intend to drag till December. This would help them to have their say in choosing the candidates.

Significantly Adityanath even within this crisis convened a meeting of his ministers to strategize for the upcoming by-elections. Both deputy chief ministers, Maurya and Brijesh Pathak, remained absent. This meeting acquired more importance for the reason that byelections for 10 assembly seats in the will take place in August. The main question that has cropped up is who will select the candidates; Modi or Yogi. During the meeting, responsibilities for each seat were assigned to three ministers, to ensure focused efforts in each constituency.

While both Yogi and Adhikari are against Modi’s sabka sath slogan,, they are desperate to emerge as the new face of anti-Muslim politics. In UP vendors have been asked to display their names in front of shops while the procession of the Kanwarias passes through the streets. It reminisces the infamous action of Hitler when Jews in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe were made to wear the yellow Star of David during World War II to prominently display their Jewish identity before the public in the years leading up to the Holocaust. AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi compared the move to Apartheid and Judenboykott, the boycott of Jewish businesses in Hitler’s Germany.

Adhikari’s line echos the same spirit and political line. He has been candid “We know that Muslims do not vote for us. Obviously there is no need to run after them”. In future he would adopt a hard anti-Muslim line implying that Bengal may witness communal clashes and social unrest. It is for the first time Suvendu said something like this. It makes explicit that BJP is striving for alternative space. Hard Hindutva failed the BJP in 2021as the leadership did adopt a mellowed stand towards Muslims. The mood of the deliberations at the two state committees and observations of the leaders leave no doubt that RSS is no more willing to allow space to Modi to project himself as the Hindu Hridaya Samrat. (IPA Service)