BJP banks on Hindutva card in poll-bound Gujarat

Keeping the view on imperative protests of subordinate Hindu caste groups in Gujarat, BJP is going to come up with the concept of “temple city” ahead of Assembly elections in early 2017. Realising the fact that Gujaratis are showing signs of fatigue from being ruled by the BJP since 1995, the saffron party leadership seems to be determined to salvage the power by striking the Hindutva chord again.

According to sources, an Indore based model-turned spiritual leader and social reformer Udaysingh Deshmukh, popularly known as Bhayyuji Maharaj seems to have been emerged as the helmsman to reunite Hindu voters by spreading the Hindutva mantra. Bhaiyyuji Maharaj is reported to have been  provided lands to build his ashrams across the Gujarat state.

The spiritual guru also shares good relationship with politicians, actors, singers and industrialists. Former Maharashtra Former President Pratibha Patil, PM Modi, Uddhav and Raj Thackere, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Anuradha Paudwal and film actor Milind Gunaji have been seen visiting his ashram. Even, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has also attended many of his programs.

In the past two Assembly elections the state witnessed the BJP’s victory because of Hindutva faces like Acharya Dharmendra and Baba Ramdev who played the Hindutva card. Political observers feel that this time also the incumbent BJP is re-strategising the same with Bhaiyyuji Maharaj. In midst of reservation movements the party is all set to attract youth thorough Bhayyuji’s motivational sermons. Even Bhayyuji Maharaj apparently said that he would come to Gujarat to guide the youth. Last week he also met the Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, BJP state president Jiyu Vaghani and other state officials. 

Meanwhile, the state BJP is facing  uncertainty with the surfacing of anti-BJP parties and disgruntled BJP leaders post Modi-era. Even in the past two decades, for the first time Gujaratis are witnessing caste fronts with the outbursts of Dalits (7.5 per cent of the state’s population) and Patels (around 15 per cent) receiving a clandestine push from the anti-BJP political forces and Hindutva has started coming off within two years of Narendra Modi’s exit as chief minister.