The Congress manifesto for Karnataka elections seeking a ban on organisations like Bajrang Dal and PFI seems to have given the BJP its theme slogan for the state polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned the issue on its head, saying the Congress has insulted Hanuman as the saffron outfit, Bajrang Dal, is named after the deity, making it central to his party’s campaign.
With a week to go for the polling, the issue threatens to turn the poll campaign even more polarising. The Congress's decision to seek Bajrang Dal’s ban also indicated that the grand old party wanted to contest the election with an ideological framework apart from promising freebies.
It is not the first time that the Congress government had banned various events of the Bajrang Dal. In 2001, the then Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, in his previous tenure, had banned the display of trishuls, which was later overturned with the change of government. When Digvijay Singh was chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, he banned a convention to be organised by the body in Bhopal, which led to the confrontation. The Congress chief ministers at that time, including those of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, had sought a ban on Bajrang Dal. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge who was Karnataka's home minister in 2001 too had said the Dal be banned if it indulged in illegal activities.
The jury is still out if ‘Bajrang Dal and Hanuman’ as a poll issue would have its impact on the ground, but it certainly given the ruling party a cultural theme to hammer in repeatedly. 'Bajrang Bali ki, Jai' echoes through coastal Karnataka. "The fervent response from the Kannadigas in Mangaluru signals a shift in the narrative and focus and marks a turning point," Karnataka Bjp leader and union minister of state for agriculture, Shobha Karandlage said.
Whatever may be the outcome of the Karnataka polls, it will certainly provide insights on whether making a promise in the manifestos portraying an ideological position could be a turning point in the election campaign.
The organisation in question, the Bajrang Dal, was set up in 1984 as a body to work for the liberation of the Ram Temple. Its reach extended in the Hindi-speaking states and states like Karnataka. The Bajrang Dal is affiliated to Vishwa Hindu Parishad which was spearheading the temple agitation. The co-founder of Bajrang Dal, Vinay Katiyar, rose to become the BJP general secretary and was elected to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
According to the VHP, the Bajrang Dal was set up to provide security to the Ram-Janaki Rath yatra as the state government had refused to do so. As there was a threat to the yatra, a call was made to protect the rath in Ayodhya.
Initially, the Bajrang Dal had a temporary and localised objective of "awakening youth of UP and getting their involvement in Ram Janma Bhumi Movement." But as the mobilisation impressed the VHP, it decided to institutionalise it.
"The role of Bajarang Dal in Hindu Awakening is not a secret. It successfully got the Hindu Youth involved in the Ram Janma Bhumi movement. It is evident from the tremendous success of various programmes like Shila Poojan, Ram Jyoti Yatra, Kar Seva of 1990 and Kar Seva of 1992...Bajrang Dal had emerged before the public in the form of such an organisation, especially after 06 December 1992, which was anxiously committed to the creation of a proud, self-respecting and valiant Hindu society," the VHP says in its introduction of Bajrang Dal.
Apart from its organisational meetings, the Bajrang Dal, under its designated duties, undertakes agitational activities as decided by its leaders, and also participates in "renovation of religious places, cow-protection, protests against insults hurled to Hindu symbols and traditions, protests against vulgarity and obscenity displayed on the television advertisements and through beauty contests and opposition to the illegal infiltration."