By
Aditya Aamir

            ‘Can
Mandir and Vikas go together?’ is the question gaining traction after the VHP
rally the other day in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, which was less a ‘Dharam Sansad’
and more a ‘Dharam (in) Sankat’ congregation. If the BJP loses Madhya Pradesh
and Chhattisgarh besides Rajasthan, ‘Mandir Wahin Banaenga’ will be all that is
left to even think of a second term for Modi. December 11 will decide not only
Ram’s fate, it will also determine Modi’s future.

            The
exit polls predict gloom in the saffron camp. The “public” is mostly unhappy
and all it requires to defeat Modi is to bring all that misery together. The
mahagathbandan has to become a fait accompli. But Uttar Pradesh is not Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh or for that matter Rajasthan. A BSP-SP gathbandan is
enough to cut BJP to size in Uttar Pradesh. So, why give away free parliament
seats to the Congress over and above Amethi and Rae Bareilli? The Congress has
MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala and Punjab to make up its LS
numbers in 2019.

            Mayawati
and Akhilesh Yadav skipped the December 10 opposition parties’ meeting in Delhi
to chart a course of action for the Lok Sabha polls. And an opposition huddle
minus Mayawati and Yadav does not make a mahagathbandan. But even that should
not make the BJP happy if it loses December 11. The exit polls have rattled the
BJP. Its own internal polls are not all that rosy. A drubbing on December 11
will kill whatever little spirit is left in the saffron party.

            So,
what’s Modi left with? Apart from Ram Mandir, that is. Well, in the battle of
the Gandhis versus Modi, the latter has an advantage. He’s the government!
Everybody knows the ‘sarkar’, any ‘sarkar’ anywhere, is all-powerful.
Unearthing alleged scams and alleged corruption against a rival is that much
easier for a government machinery. So, we have this daily ladling of new
corruption cases against the Gandhi family.

            The
latest is a resurrection of the “NSEL-farmhouse corruption case.” Add that to
the Agusta Westland and it is using government control over investigating
agencies to advantage. Raids on Vadra the evening exit polls predicted
uncertain results for the BJP were another example.

            A
Mallya extradition added to the Michel one will lift BJP spirits on the eve of
December 11, but the people’s courts of MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan could
deal a hammer blow to BJP’s chances in 2019 unless Michel delivers to the BJP
what it expects from him, an explanation of ‘AP’ and ‘fam’ to its liking, so as
to corner the Gandhis; mother and son, both. Politics these last few months
sank to deplorable depths with rival politicians dredging the dregs out to
malign each other. Genealogies were dug out and dragged through the mud.

            Running
through the middle is polarization along religious communal lines. On
hindsight, letting the Sangh Parivaar pull the cow into the mix was a mistake
the BJP overlooked. The cow doesn’t fetch votes, only negative votes because of
the vigilantism attached to the cow. Try as they can, the BJP will not be able
to draw a link between Ram and cow. That’s Krishna and the ‘Parivaar’ doesn’t
want an OBC god to flaunt.

            Don’t
be surprised if Vikas Purush Narendra Modi, if he loses big on December 11,
starts talking of a Ram temple ordinance during this Winter Session of
Parliament. A bill will be even better because, if it divides the House, will
show who is for the Ram Mandir and who is not? It’s an option that comes easy
to make for hard Hindutva and Modi knows that he has to fight the soft Hindutva
of Rahul Gandhi to win 2019.

            December
11 “defeats” will push Ram Mandir to the fore. Left with no other
election plank and looking at a fate worse than to walk the plank, Modi will
have no option other than to promulgate a temple ordinance or bring up a bill.
Looking in from the outside, especially after the Supreme Court refused to play
ball, the Sangh Parivaar factored in this possibility. So, the Shiv Sena
raising the hue and cry in Ayodhya and the VHP rallying Hindus at Ramlila
Maidan. Push the Narendra Modi government to commit to a Ram Mandir and be done
with it. To tell the truth, the Sangh Parivaar will like it nothing better than
to see Modi lose December 11, lose big time! (IPA Service)

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