Assembly elections 2022: Can AAP beat BJP at its own game? 

The AAP wants to pay attention to the experimental dangers of the soft-hindutva methods which have been tried by non-BJP events prior to now too.

Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party has launched into an formidable mission. Having established its presence in Punjab within the earlier elections, it’s now focussed on increasing its footprints within the upcoming meeting elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, and later in Gujarat.

Buoyed by the AAP’s thumping victory in 2020 Delhi polls, Kejriwal now desires to show the tables in Uttar Pradesh with the utmost meeting seats (403). Whereas the promise of freebies kinds a essential a part of AAP’s positioning, Kejriwal is aware of that to tackle the BJP in UP, it must beat the saffron get together at its personal sport. The AAP, within the course of, has begun to flirt with the concept of Hindutva as a technique to make itself acceptable to an even bigger chunk of plenty.

Patriotism has already been a tried and examined system for elections. The AAP, which has seen its justifiable share of criticism for questioning the surgical strikes and criticising the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s model of ‘hyper-nationalism’, is in no temper to go away something to likelihood. On its plate – a mix of BJP’s model of nationalism and a touch of Hindutva.

For starters, the AAP is scheduled to take out a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ in Ayodhya on September 14, with possible stopovers on the Ram temple and Hanumangarhi. Trying a little bit again, this appears to be part of Kejriwal’s well-crafted technique which began off with the Diwali Pujan in November 2020, and even earlier, when Kejriwal visited Delhi’s famed Hanuman Temple to hunt blessings quickly after the Delhi election win. Now, the get together which is gearing as much as contest all of the 403 seats in UP, can be mulling a Tiranga Yatra in all of the meeting constituencies.

To make it a grand present in Ayodhya, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh visited the Ram temple and Hanumangarhi on Monday. Sisodia additionally met saints within the temple city.

‘The quintessential Arvind Kejriwal’ 

Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was expelled from AAP in 2015, believes resorting to the Hindutva technique won’t yield something to the Aam Aadmi Get together, which he alleged was appearing as a “B-Workforce” to the BJP.

Talking to FinancialExpress.com, Bhushan stated, “You can not defeat the BJP by changing into a B-Workforce for the BJP, so that’s not going to work. This sort of a celebration which has no ideology, no insurance policies, is dictated by one particular person and is keen to go any strategy to get what they need is just not going to take it wherever.”

Comparable views got here from Shazia Ilmi, who stop AAP to hitch the BJP in 2014, who referred to as it an train by the AAP for “get together funding”. She additionally accused Kejriwal of resorting to such gimmicks to get political mileage.

“They’re excellent at that, at any time when and no matter fits them. Amanatullah Khan, who truly supported the Batla Home accused, he was with him. Not solely that, he (Amanatullah Khan) was accused on costs of fringe for beating up the chief secretary, however they haven’t suspended him. The identical Amanatullah was roaming round with Sharjeel Imam, they’re completely OK with it.”

“That is quintessential Kejriwal for you. He alters ideologies to go well with his colors. By doing this, they’re simply attempting to gather some funds. This train is being achieved for get together funding. That is only for money-making,” she added.

‘Hindutva not owned by the BJP’ 

Nevertheless, the AAP has stated the target of the Tiranga Yatra was to differentiate that the get together’s interpretation of Hindu identification and faith was very completely different from what it referred to as the “decisive” model of Hindutva of the BJP.

Talking to FinancialExpress.com, AAP MLA Madan Lal stated that Hindutva is just not owned by the BJP and the get together’s Tiranga Yatra was a message to the those who nation comes earlier than any political agenda.

“BJP has forcefully taken the possession of Hindutva, Ram ji is the deity for each Hindu and Tiranga is an emblem to awaken the spirit of patriotism within the individuals. We wish that individuals, regardless of caste and faith, give precedence to the Tiranga. Each political agenda comes after the nation and nationwide satisfaction. The Tiranga Yatra is a message to the those who they have to prioritise the nation and communicate within the nation’s curiosity,” Lal stated.

Hindutva method a well-crafted technique of Kejriwal? 

In Uttarakhand, the AAP introduced former Colonel Ajay Kothiyal as its chief ministerial candidate, with Kejriwal seemingly attempting to underline his credentials as a “deshbhakt fauji”. His get together has been publicising Kothiyal’s work in rebuilding the Kedarnath Temple, devastated by the 2013 floods. Evidently, the AAP is attempting to tackle the BJP on each fronts — patriotism and Hindutva.

Kejriwal, who earlier centered on concentrating on the BJP-led governments on the Centre and states over points like communalism and corruption, modified his trajectory in 2019-20 publish the Lok Sabha and Delhi meeting polls together with his get together step by step resorting to its personal model of Hindutva to counter the BJP.

Whereas campaigning in the course of the 2020 meeting polls, Kejriwal declared himself as a devotee of Lord Hanuman and in addition visited a well-liked Hanuman temple within the nationwide capital.

On the difficulty of Ram Mandir, Arvind Kejriwal welcomed the Supreme Courtroom judgment on the Ayodhya title go well with and introduced that go to to Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir would function within the Delhi authorities’s pilgrimage scheme for senior residents.

Experimental dangers

Nevertheless, the AAP wants to pay attention to the experimental dangers of the soft-hindutva methods which have been tried by non-BJP events prior to now too. Specialists consider that the AAP’s temple visits and flag marches may have the unintended impact of entrenching and solidifying the phrases of political debate set by the BJP. Furthermore, in UP, the get together neither has a distinguished management like its challengers nor a powerful organisational community. Strengthening its organisational base in a state, which is dominated by caste equations, shall be a tricky nut to crack for Kejriwal’s get together.

In Uttarakhand, as an illustration, the AAP is attempting to pitch itself as an alternative choice to the principle gamers BJP and the Congress. Its leaders have taken up the contentious difficulty of the administration of temples and sided with the clergymen who don’t want authorities interference by the use of the Devasthanam Board that was arrange in 2019 by the then chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat. However right here too, the get together is attempting to emerge as a 3rd pole in what has been a conventional bipolar contest between the BJP and Congress.