Ever since his first term in office, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has sparked interest in his religious belief. Is he a self-declared atheist, an agnostic, or a believer? Taking oath in 2013 in the name of “truth”, he had famously said he was “neither an atheist nor a theist”. He had earlier claimed that he was an atheist; a few years later, he said he was a rationalist who was against superstition and did not wear his beliefs on his sleeve.
Living up to the reputation, he had even visited Chamarajanagar to defy the well-known jinx that chief ministers who visit the district lose power. But the politician’s stance has progressively changed with the passage of time—until his declaration on Monday during the inauguration of a Rama Sita Lakshmana temple that he is “not an atheist”. He also announced that he will visit the new temple in Ayodhya soon. His deputy D K Shivakumar has often said that the name ‘Siddaramaiah’ has ‘Ram’ in it, and ‘Shivakumar’ contains ‘Shiva’.
The Karnataka Congress leader’s declaration of his religious stand is an interesting comment on the political and religious change happening in the country. At a time many people are equating ‘secular’ with being ‘anti-Hindu’, politicians like Siddaramaiah are being compelled to declare their religious identity, especially with the Lok Sabha elections approaching.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has often been accused of ‘soft Hindutva’ when he visits temples. Call it political expediency—but when in Rome, political leaders have to do as Romans do. In the case of the Janata Dal (Secular), it is about political survival. Down to 19 seats in the Karnataka assembly, the Deve Gowda family has cheerfully embraced the saffron party, unmindful of the ‘secular’ tag of the JDS.
Ever since the BJP has succeeded in taking the Hindu-cultural narrative forward, the Congress and other opposition parties have been jostling for space in this arena. Especially now, with the temple euphoria sweeping the nation. Despite having won a big state like Karnataka on its own merit, the Congress will have to strike a delicate balance so as not to alienate any section of its electorate and come up with a relevant political strategy. If not, it will have to fight a defensive battle in the Lok Sabha elections.