Yesterday Prime Minister categorically stated that GST was not just his idea but that of Congress as well. And this was followed up with primetime coverage of Sangeet Som matched against Asaduddin Owaisi on the non-issue if Taj Mahal was built by Traitors.
While we did put up an article yesterday wherein we stated that BJP would use communal polarization primarily targeted towards 2019 general elections, the result tirades of Sangeet Som and on ground campaigns by Saffron clad Yogi would suggest that Amit Shah may be using his arsenal on a much smaller target – Gujarat Assembly elections.
People like Sangeet Som and Sakshi Maharaj are typically used by BJP to rouse Hindutva version of ‘Impending Peril’ which mobilizes hardcore Hindutva supporters in favour of party. Without any incentive this cadre puts all its resources to ensure that Party’s voters reach polling station and get counted as votes. This strategy employs high decibel pitch of peril which typically draws ‘secular‘ parties to the other side thereby adding credibility to the claims.
The Strategy has been used to good effect in UP where communal divide is almost always lurking in background.
Using the same strategy in Gujarat marks a first. The state is overtly divided into communal lines ever since 2002 riots, the divisions in society never really healed – BJP has used its protection to 2002 accused (We are not alleging them to be perpetrators) as its way of defining itself in the social structure of the state. However this time things seem to be a lot more different.
Gujarat is a state of businessmen and entrepreneurs the two classes suffering most from first the demonetization and then the patchy implementation of GST. So when Prime Minister tries to attribute his opposition into GST’s roll out, he is not sharing a credit but merely deflecting the blame. The fact the execution of GST roll out has been utterly disruptive, sucking out liquidity from the system has effected Gujarat in degrees much higher than most other places.
What seem like a continued panic like trend Gujarat government has been on a spree of sop announcements, followed by resurgence of Hindutva. All indications point to only one deduction – all is not well for BJP in Gujarat and prevailing winds are at least hot if not totally reversed to the saffron cause
