As Uttar Pradesh gears up for 10 critical assembly bypolls, Yogi Adityanath is raking up attacks on Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh to recover lost ground and consolidate Hindutva sentiments to take on the Samajwadi Party’s caste politics.
With the Ram Mandir issue losing momentum and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav wresting the political advantage in the state, the BJP and affiliate Hindutva organisations have been holding protest rallies and marches on the Bangladesh issue across the state in poll-bound areas.
“Are you seeing what is happening in Bangladesh? Those mistakes should not take place here. Batenge to katenge, ek rahenge to nek rahenge (Divided, we will be slaughtered. If we remain united, we will be secure),” Adityanath told a gathering in Agra on 26 August.
At another event in Mathura, he slammed the Opposition for being silent on the condition of Hindus in Bangladesh and being more concerned with its vote bank. “Those people who are vocal on every issue of the world, their mouth is shut on Bangladesh because their vote bank will disappear,” Yogi Adityanath said at the Krishna Janmotsav celebrations.
“These people see Palestine but not Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, temples have been destroyed and Hindus have been killed… But these parties will not speak on the issue of Hindus. These people want to divide society for their electoral gain. For us, the country is the first priority,” he added.
His comments in Mathura echoed his statement in Ayodhya on August 7 as violence escalated in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina fled the country. “India’s neighbourhood is burning, temples are being demolished, Hindus are selectively targeted, There is a need to learn from the mistakes of the past and unite against the crisis threatening Sanatan Dharma,” he had said.
During a visit to Milkipur constituency three days after he went to Ayodhya, he said 90 percent of the Hindus left in Bangladesh were from the Dalit community.
“Those who have their mouths stitched know that their vote bank is not there. But they are Hindus. It is the responsibility of all of us to stand with their suffering,” he said.
Adding, “The persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh is not an issue of favor or opposition, rather it is an issue of humanity and it is our responsibility to raise our voice to protect humanity. We will discharge this responsibility throughout our life.”
Social media has been filled with reports of attacks on Hindus since Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid violent protests to demand her ouster. But Mohammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh’s caretaker government, said reports of attacks on minorities were “exaggerated” and assured India it was committed to protecting Hindus and all minorities in Bangladesh.
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Politics of polarisation as BJP eyes critical bypolls
The chief minister’s decision to fall back on the politics of polarisation isn’t surprising.
Born as Ajay Mohan Bisht, Yogi Adityanath has always been known as a firebrand Hindutva leader who has been criticised in the past for whipping up communal passions and his strident stand on “love jihad”, “triple talaq” and ban on the slaughter of cows.
However, the fiery orator—who has been chief minister since 2017—has a huge fan base in Gorakhpur, his constituency where some see him as an incarnation of a Hindu god.
So, the return to Hindutva politics is hardly unexpected ahead of the assembly bypolls.
The upcoming bypolls are a critical test for the BJP after its Lok Sabha tally in the politically-important state fell to 33 seats in this year’s election from 62 in 2019. The Samajwadi Party, on the other hand, won 37 of the state’s 80 seats to emerge as the single-largest party in Uttar Pradesh.
Though the Election Commission hasn’t announced the bypoll dates yet, the BJP as well as the opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress have already begun preparing for the high-stakes byelections.
For the BJP, a win in the bypolls will restore the party’s confidence and lift its morale ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. And for the Samajwadi Party-Congess, success in the bypolls will maintain the momentum of the Lok Sabha victory.
Bypolls are to be held in Karhal, Milkipur, Katehari, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Meerapur, Phulpur, Majhawan and Sisamau assembly seats. The seats fell vacant after nine assembly members, including Akhilesh Yadav, were elected to the Lok Sabha. One Samajwadi Party MLA was disqualified after he was convicted in a criminal case.
Yogi Adityanath is leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to win the 10 bypolls, with his eyes trained on some key areas where the BJP lost to the opposition in the parliamentary election. He is personally looking after campaigning in Milkipur in Ayodhya district because the BJP’s unexpected Lok Sabha defeat in Ayodhya, considered a safe seat, was seen as a personal loss for Yogi Adityanath. The Samajwadi Party’s MLA, Awadesh Prasad, won by defeating the sitting BJP MP who had held the seat for 10 years.
Apart from Ayodhya, Yogi Adityanath has also been focussing on Katehari in Ambedkar Nagar where the Samajwadi Party MLA defeated the BJP candidate.
Consolidating Hindu sentiments
Both the BJP and Yogi Adityanath are not taking any chances with the bypolls.
Desperate for a win, the BJP hasn’t missed any chance to rake up the Bangladesh issue.
Over the past few weeks, the BJP and its affiliate Hindutva organisations have held a series of protest marches on the issue in poll-bound areas from Ghaziabad to Ayodhya and Ambedkar Nagar. The rallies raised the Bangladesh issue in a bid to unite the core Hindutva constituency that got fragmented in the Lok Sabha election due to the INDIA bloc’s constitution change debate.
On 14 August, a protest march was organised in Ambedkar Nagar where a bypoll is scheduled in Katehari assembly constituency and a memorandum was handed over to the sub-divisional magistrate to stop atrocities against the Hindus of Bangladesh.
On 16 August, the BJP’s Ghaziabad district president Ved Pal Updhayay along with VHP and RSS workers led a protest march the Ghaziabad district where bypolls are scheduled.
“When the entire country was worshipping Lord Krishna on Janamasthami, in Bangladesh the statue of Lord Narayan was destroyed, ornaments were looted and the pujari was tortured. Hindus of this country will not tolerate these atrocities against Hindus and they should be united,” Hindu religious leader Swami Om Prapannacharya told a Jan Akrosh rally on Bangladesh organised by the BJP, RSS, VHP and Hindu Raksha Samiti in Balrampur district on August 28.
The BJP says its strategy is to use the Bangladesh issue to unite the Hindu community in Uttar Pradesh where the party lost because of a split in the Hindu vote and the Opposition’s promise of caste-based social justice.
Pradip Singh, district president of the BJP in Balrampur, said the party was raising the issue of atrocities against the Hindus of Bangladesh to remind Hindus that fragmentation led to a weakening of the strength of Hindus. “And if they will divide on caste lines, they will suffer like the Hindus suffering in Bangladesh. We have to unite,” Singh told ThePrint.
Padamsen Choudhary, BJP vice-president in Uttar Pradesh, echoed the same sentiment.
“We are awakening people about atrocities Hindus are facing in Bangladesh and how few forces want to destroy Hindus. It’s time to remain united. We are hopeful the few people left in the Lok Sabha will unite again on the Hindu identity now,” Choudhary told ThePrint.
The resurgence of Hindutva politics is not unexpected. It is the party’s core ideology and has worked well for it in past elections. “Our success formula remains development with Hindutva identity politics. So we can’t move to another formula which is not tested,” a senior BJP vice-president of Uttar Pradesh, who is in charge of the bypolls, told ThePrint.
“That is why we are awakening Hindus through the Bangladesh issue to regain lost ground after the Lok Sabha election and to fight the Samajwadi Party’s caste politics.”
Akhilesh Yadav’s slogan of PDA—picchhde (backward), Dalit, and alpsankhyak (minorities)—resonated with the marginalised Dalit and OBC communities in Uttar Pradesh, which sends the maximum number of MPs to Parliament.
Shashikant Pandey, head of the political science department at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU), says the BJP is seeking to regain lost ground by raking up the Hindutva identity issue to fight caste faultlines. “The RSS and BJP have worked over the years for a Hindutva assimilation project. Now, a challenge has been posed by the Samajwadi Party through its social justice politics,” Pandey told ThePrint.
“The BJP can’t risk fighting Mandal parties through the same strategy.”
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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