BENGALURU: While IT/BT and RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge requesting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ban activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on government premises is being viewed as political rhetoric, analysts also see some electoral calculations behind it.
Ahead of the Bihar assembly polls in mid-November, the grand old party appears to be setting a narrative against the BJP from Karnataka, and has already grabbed national attention. Besides, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched his ‘Vote Chori’ campaign from Bengaluru and continued it with ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar.
“Unless there is a direction from the party high command, Priyank Kharge would not have written a letter to the CM, who has asked the chief secretary to study the Tamil Nadu government’s action against the RSS. It is an indication that he is serious about Priyank’s letter,” remarked a Congress leader, adding that any move to ban RSS activities is likely to impact the Bihar polls.
The timing of Priyank’s letter coincides with the Bihar polls, where Congress is an ally of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). RJD leader and former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad is a known anti-BJP and RSS campaigner. When RJD emerged as the single largest party in 2015, Lalu had attributed it to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat issuing a statement that the reservation policy should be reviewed, recalled political analyst Kiran MS. “It had an impact as the RSS itself made that statement, but setting a narrative from Karnataka is unlikely to impact Bihar elections,” he added.
Yet, polarising a considerable chunk of Muslim voters towards the Congress-RJD alliance, and weaning them away from the JDU, might be part of a grand scheme of things, say analysts. Lalu will attract the Yadav vote, Kharge the Dalit vote, and if Muslims move towards the alliance, it will have an edge over the BJP-JDU bloc.
Ahead of the 2023 assembly polls in Karnataka, the Congress had promised to ban the Bajrang Dal, though the government is yet to take a call on it. A similar plan could be in the pipeline for the Bihar polls, another analyst opined.
Noted political scientist Dr Sandeep Shastri was sceptical that Priyank’s letter would help Congress and its allies. “I am not too sure how relevant it is in Bihar, given that Congress is a junior partner in the alliance. Key issues will be SIR, caste, development priorities, youth vote and women’s vote,” he claimed. “The difference between BJP and its political opponents on the role of the RSS, and BJP’s relationship with the organisation is not new. This issue will evoke strong support or opposition among voters, depending on where they stand on the political spectrum,” he elaborated.
