Bloody route to victory The Statesman 09 Nov 2014 simantini krishnan Amidst talk of development and good governance, there is rising incidence of communal violence, the latest such incidents being reported from Trilokpuri and Bawana in Delhi. With polls looking imminent in the near future, major political outfits are under fire for reverting to the tried and tested strategy of stoking religious passions to consolidate their respective vote-banks. At the same time, Delhi witnessed noteworthy acts of resistance, albeit modest in scale. If these instances of violence and resistance are indeed backed by political parties with a stake in the upcoming elections, the battleground in Delhi may be more complex than is evident at the moment. The BJPs stupendous performance in Uttar Pradesh on the back of riots in Muzaffarnagar has lent much credence to the riots-for-votes theory, so much so that Congress legislators seem to have abandoned their veiled appeals to communal sentiments in favour of bold and upfront incitement to violence. The Congress, which is on the verge of extinction in New Delhi seems to have latched on to a strategy hitherto identified with acolytes of the BJP. The incident in Bawana where a Congress legislator participated in a maha-panchayat to threaten Muslims on the eve of Muharram is vivid portrayal of the desperation within Congress ranks. The saffron machinery also swung into action when it became adequately clear that the BJP would not be able to form a government without fresh elections. Thus the riots in Trilokpuri broke out in the days preceding the BJPs much delayed statement on its inability to constitute a government in Delhi. The flare-up, which followed rumours of desecration of a place of worship at the time of Diwali celebrations, has aroused suspicions on the role of former BJP MLA Sunil Kumar Vaid, who lost his seat to the AAPs Raju Dhingan in December, last year. Interestingly, there has been some resistance to the incidents of violence and intimidation in Trilokpuri and Bawana. Volunteers from the Hindu community in Trilokpuri participated in Muharram processions in a bid to ease the communal clashes in the locality. More recently, the mysterious appearance of a slaughtered pig in a mosque in Okhla was met with much restraint by local residents who united across religious divides to file a complaint with the police. It is being speculated that members of the AAP were behind these operations. Symbolic gestures of resistance may not be sufficient to neutralize the effects of riot engineering. At the same time, it is hard to discount their significance in a country where little acts invested with the right kind of symbolism can take on established authority of a powerful state. The strategies adopted by the AAP in the run up to the Delhi assembly elections last year are a case in point. In an age where the glimmer of a new idea can be escalated by media coverage and stretched to tipping point by innovative leadership, the little acts of resistance by a few individuals could have far reaching political consequences. The likelihood of a direct contest between the BJP and the AAP is largely responsible for the simmering tension in Delhi. Sections of the media propagated the belief that the AAP has lost its standing among voters, even in its strongest bastion. However, the AAP leadership remains convinced of the partys appeal among the working classes and poor, even though it may have lost some ground among the middle and upper classes. The BJP, on the other hand has maintained a winning streak ever since its triumph in the Lok Sabha polls, and failure to keep it going will no doubt cast a shadow on the popularity of Narendra Modi. The party has frequently been associated with the engineering of communal riots and polarization of electorates ahead of important elections. The high stakes involved in the Delhi polls would no doubt warrant such an approach, given the healthy odds of a good showing by the AAP. Similarly, the AAP would pull out on all stops to offset the effects of strategies that will benefit the BJP. Much has been said about the diminishing relevance of castes and communities in electoral politics. However, every poll this year has been preceded by communal conflagrations, or at least the looming threat of violence. The Muzaffarnagar riots, which set the tone for the Lok Sabha polls were followed by low intensity clashes in Maharashtra and Haryana. This pattern is now being replicated in Delhi where politicians from both BJP and Congress have openly incited violence. The development narrative may have caught the fancy of many Indians, but it is communal polarization that continues to be perceived by politicians as the best guarantor of success, at least in the short term. Given the small victory margins of candidates from both BJP and the AAP in the assembly elections of 2013, parties are well aware of how a minor swing in the public mood can constitute the difference between victory and defeat. Be it stray incidents of communal violence or little acts of resistance, it is hard to discount the crucial role of such strategies in determining the poll outcome. The writer is a London--based political scientist
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 19:52:37 +0000
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