Hindutva in UP

After the BJP victory in the provincial elections in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), the CM slot was up for grabs and there were few clues as to who would be named. The person that very few commentators had considered seriously was Yogi Adityanath. A firebrand Hindu preacher who has a strong following, Adityanath was considered by most sane elements to be too extreme to be given charge of the provincial administration. Among his most controversial statements have been those likening Shah Rukh Khan to a terrorist, calling for something similar to Trump’s Muslim ban in India and warning his followers to guard against ‘Love Jihad.’ What is more dangerous are the criminal charges against him for attempted murder, defiling a place of worship and inciting riots in UP four years ago; these riots left over 60 people dead. That the BJP has chosen this man to lead India’s most populous province reflects an emboldening of the party’s Hindutva agenda. Having spent most of the campaign in UP focusing on economic development, the BJP seems to have surprised some observers by pulling out the Hinduvta card. But for any careful observer there is nothing new to this strategy.

In Prime Minister Modi, the BJP has found the perfect mix between selling economic development and selling Hindu nationalism. In that sense, Adityanath was the most Modi-like figure available to hand over the provincial leadership to. Modi was chief minister of Gujarat during the pogrom of 2004. Many had thought it would damage his ability to lead the BJP to victory in a country that is still secular in its constitution. But the BJP has learnt that fostering communal tensions is the best way to unite the Hindu vote. The choice of Adityanath shows that the BJP is wedded to this divisive strategy as an instrument of policy. Adityanath has made a career out of vitriol against religious minorities in India – and it is unlikely that he is going to give up soon. It is also glaringly obvious that Modi’s elevation as national leader has not changed the fundamental character of his policies nor his support to the rising tide of Hindu nationalism. The merger of nationalism and religion is the easiest way to distract people from the failures of a government. The Congress has come out all guns blazing against the appointment by claiming that the mask is truly off the Modi government but the party has failed to find a strategy to mobilise its voters across India’s many divisions. The BJP’s strategy works because no political opposition has been able to gain the same kind of public support. The Congress has appeared leaderless and the Aam Aadmi Party too fringe to be able to gain national popularity. The BJP will not give up a winning strategy for now – even if it comes at the cost of furthering the deep divisions in Indian society.