Hands on Hindutva: UPCC Congress organises ‘kanya pujan’ in Lucknow.

Pursuing its soft Hindutva agenda, Congress organises ‘kanya pujan’ at Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee  HQ. 

Shailvee Sharda | TNN | Lucknow | Oct 19, 2023::  Pushing its soft Hindutva pitch, the Uttar Pradesh Congress organised kanya pujan at its headquarters in Lucknow on Wednesday.

The ceremony was led by party state president Ajay Rai and Congress Sewa Dal chief Pramod Pandey, who were joined by senior leaders.

Besides being a common household practice during Navratri, the ritual is linked more to BJP leaders, particularly Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who conducts kanya pujan as the head of Gorakshpeeth.

According to experts, after the advent of the BJP at the Centre, Hindutva has gained prominence in politics. The BJP’s return to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in a way compelled other parties to also take the sentiments of Hindu voters into account.

Going all out to embrace Hindutva plank is not possible for the Congress in view of its primary voter matrix.

Therefore, display of activities indicating their inclination towards the Hindu way of life has been included in the Congress pitch, often termed as ‘soft Hindutva’ by political analysts.

After the appointment of Ajay Rai as the state Congress president, the display of ‘soft Hindutva’ has become a regular feature.

On August 24, when Rai assumed charge at the UPCC headquarters, the event was marked by reciting of Vedic hymns followed by a symbolic Ganga ‘aarti’. Prior to that, he paid a visit to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple to seek the blessings of the deity.

The BJP is planning to organize ‘kanya pujan’ (girl worship) programs during Navratri in an effort to reach out to women. The events will be held state-wide and will include girls from all castes and communities, including Muslims. The BJP aims to show that it does not discriminate between any caste or community and that all girls should be respected and benefit from government schemes. The party plans to organize these programs in rural areas to strengthen its social coalition narrative at the grassroots level.

The upcoming assembly polls in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Mizoram are seen as a litmus test for the Congress party rather than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the last assembly polls, the Congress won in the Hindi heartland states, unseating the BJP after 15 years of power. Now, the Congress needs to prove that it can win in these key states to have a chance at winning power at the national level. Additionally, the caste and creed of voters will play a significant role in these elections.

BJP President JP Nadda criticized the Congress party, stating that corruption is in their DNA. He referred to the recent discovery of Rs 42 crore in cash at a residence linked to a former corporator in Bengaluru. Nadda accused the Congress of using contractors to spread lies against the BJP during the Karnataka elections and turning the state into an “ATM for money laundering.” He also alleged that the Congress is planning to loot the people’s money in Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.

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Courtesy: TOI.