B S Murthy
twitter @murthybs
The biggest media spectacle of 2020 has been unraveled today @ Ayodhya, at the foundation laying ceremony seen as a huge victory of Hindutva by BJP & RSS in establishing their long-cherished goal of building the temple in ayodhya. The key leaders of the Ram Janam bhumi movement L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi & Uma Bharathi has been kept away from the ceremony with clear orders from PMO. Even HM Amit shah stayed back in Delhi due to COVID infection. The optics of PM Modi & RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat together sent a clear message across about who is in charge of the country for everyone to see. This is the first time in years both PM & RSS chief has been seen on the same platform indicating Sangh’s larger role in the temple issue. If Ashok singhal, erstwhile president of VHP was alive, he would have ensured a bigger role for VHP in the shilanyas, but the death of VHP president saw its role diminished & moving ahead it will be the Sangh which will lead the temple construction. All across the country, low key celebrations were reported by Sangh & bjp cadre outlining the party’s commitment to the temple construction. The optics by design made sure it was PM Modi all the way, there was no scope for anyone else to be in the frame, the reason why the president of India was not invited.
This also brings into question what next for Modi & Sangh ?, the Ayodhya temple issue was the biggest staple of BJP & Sangh cadre is now over & Ayodhya is no more a fierce issue to fight on streets. The passion seen in the cadre in the build-up for the temple will not be there in inaugurating one, the path to the temple was the path to BJP’s power, temple issue is now a rested one & unlikely to be a potent issue henceforth. With Kashmir article 370, CAA & temple issues put to rest, BJP nationally lacks a new narrative to engage their core. The issues which energize their cadre are all put to rest one by one organically. The Uniform civil code issue may not be as hot they would like to be as there are constitutional & legal roadblocks for it & calls for similar movements to liberate Mathura and Kashi, BJP cannot expect similar ground support now as the situation on the ground is worse economically, with poor & working-class devastated with the loss of livelihood & COVID out of control for next visible one year, times are tough for Modi & BJP.
Any alternative narrative building looks difficult as in the next few months, the COVID cases are likely to shoot upwards of 65-70 thousand cases a day, overtaking the US as well, with china still in our borders, economy shrinking by a third, expect the mood of the nation to be concerned. None of the economic packages announced have lifted the consumption up & Lakhs of small business closing across India will be bad news & difficult to hide.
The spin doctors & masters of emotional narratives will find the road ahead a bit difficult to maneuver, as livelihood & economic situations need to fix before anything new to be opened up. Globally all right-wing governments are cornered by economic & pandemic issues & religion & hate cards don’t seem to work anymore. In USA, all election voter surveys are indicating a rout for President Trump, a worried for the first time looks visibly shaken & made a statement saying “Nobody Likes me “, not the trump we saw every day for the last 3 plus years.
Sangh & BJP cadre ‘s motivated to push for the temple in the last two decades made them go places, reach out to hitherto unreached, engage in nationwide rath yatra to mobilize support was hugely successful. The Ayodhya was one issue on which several northern states have been won repeatedly despite bad governance. Right now no such bigger ideas to capture the imagination of the nation is on the table. The media spin masters are grappling & diverting media narrative to the Sushant Singh suicide case & Rafael flight to India as national news & will have a limited buying. This also shows their nervousness as Bihar going to polls has been one of the worst-performing states of NDA.
It will need a miracle for this country to bounce back to normalcy, there is a visible concern among small business owners & people in services jobs about how long will this pandemic effect continue to hit a day to day life of people.