Who says, whether God Ram will intervene to give Modi a third term in office ??

There was a time VHP sold stickers and wrote on cars – ‘Garv Se Kaho Hindu haen’. The politics has taken a full circle. 

In the run to the general elections in 2019 in Bhopal, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh contesting against Pragya Singh Thakur, virtually felt compelled to publicly announce “I too am a proud Hindu”. 

In circa 2024, the BJP knows its best to win polls and retain power and hence all hype-around Jan 22 mega event at Ayodhya is well understood. The dilemma in the opposition camp on what to do with Jan 22 'invite' is a paradoxical story and most of it is their own making. By differing their stance on what would Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi do with the invite; the Congress has added to its woes.  

Late Arun Jaitley had pointed out in a blog piece in 2019 that parties like the Samajwadi Party, the BSP, the RJD and of course Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress thrived in the politics of ‘polarisation’ of Muslim votes towards them. 

Thus these parties created fear in the minds of minorities and especially Muslims. 

A large part of India has now started seeing the real intent of these parties and hence Uttar Pradesh is today BJP’s strong-point. The message is same in West Bengal where Hindu assertion has given BJP as many as 18 Lok Sabha seats.

 

Jaitley analysed it well. “The Congress never understood the power of this sleeping giant (silent Hindutva spirirt). Shah Bano legislation brought by Shri Rajiv Gandhi was a result of his inability to gauge the reaction. This mistake continued even through the UPA Government where instead of treating the poor as a class, the then Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, announced that the minorities have a first right on the national exchequer”. 

Some prices for blunders are paid in installments, as they put it.

For the BJP, Jan 22 Ram Mandir consecration will be a moment of political triumph as it was the only Indian party along with Maharashtra-based Shiv Sena led by late xenophobic Bal Thackeray that stood for the ideology of Hindu cultural nationalism. For ordinary Indians and especially middle class Hindus, it is a moment of pride and simple satisfaction. 

But what about Muslims? 

They have accepted the Supreme Court verdict and now the coming Jan 22 event with a lasting sentiment of sorrow, defeat and a mix of resigned acceptance.

Muslim leaders such as Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, say, "Ram belongs to all...He is a God...He is universal, he belongs to Muslims also".

"An edge Hinduism had over other religions was its malleability and cross-cultural reach. Burqa-clad Muslim women thronged movie halls in Lucknow, whenever the Parsi filmmaker Homi Wadia released his new story of Ram and Sita," writes Jawed Naqvi for Pakistani newspaper 'Dawn'. 

He also hastens to add: "The spiritual baba in the neighbourhood temple smoked the chillum most evenings in the company of curious college students of different religions and assorted sadhus bathed in sacred ash. Every flame leaping from the smouldering marijuana was dedicated to Lord Shiva. “Bambam Bhole,” went the chorus."  

It is also true that in Hinduism where goddess Durga is worshipped as a slayer of the demon Mahishasur, there are communities that worship Mahishasur. That's the flexibility about Hinduism and no body actually complained.  

 

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In the 2019 poll manifesto when Narendra Modi was already in power, the Ram Mandir again figured but it merely said: “We reiterate our stand on Ram Mandir”. 

It also said – “Since inception, the philosophy of the BJP is anchored in the civilisational ethos of India. As we build ‘New India’, we intend to actively invest in strengthening our cultural roots and preserving civilisational continuity. Far from seeing our cultural values as hurdles to progress, we see them as essential ingredients of our future”. 

In its November 9, 2019 verdict, the Supreme Court awarded the title over the site in its entirety to the deity of the infant Lord Rama, who is also considered a “juridical person”. 

In fact, the Modi government had directions from the highest court of the land 

to set up a trust to build the temple. While the court, based on an Archaeological Survey of India report, acknowledged that a “non-Islamic structure” lay beneath the disputed land, importantly it also said “Hindu origin” of the structure could not be disputed.

In 2024 in the run up to the fast approaching parliamentary elections, the stage is now set for consecration of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya. It is also seen as a great polarisation factor and hence a 'force multiplier' for the saffron party enthusiastically moving ahead for the hat-trick.

Before this no other Prime Minister other than Jawaharlal Nehru in 1960s could win any general election for third time in a row.