The recently concluded Assembly elections once again proved that no matter the short comings and criticism they face BJP always find a way to ruthlessly decimate their rivals when it comes to elections.
As college campuses turned into grounds of heated protests, clashes BJP knew they had what they wanted for success in the upcoming elections.
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Many sections suggested that the hijab row was allowed to escalate so that political parties can benefit from the issue meaning it was a large political stand off rather than a fight for justice.
The images of hijab wearing girls facing off against saffron clad students in Karnataka colleges is what defined the underlying battle between BJP and those against it.
Elections as we know are fought on ideologies and this was a clear cut example of that.
The aim was plain and simple to make the hijab issue a national topic for debate right before the biggest electoral battle before 2024.
UP Elections and Hijab Row.
The BJP needed some noise before U.P elections and when it appeared that the coalition of Samajwadi Party (SP)-Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) was emerging strong, the ruling party played to its familiar strengths.
Faced with challenges that included COVID crisis, unemployment, farmer agitation and falling incomes the controversy stoked by Hijab row in Karnataka perhaps inadvertently played a role in what was to come.
Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid alleged that BJP was using the Hijab row for its own gains and stoking communal sentiments before UP elections.
The Opposition parties in the state said that it was a ‘conspiracy’ hatched by the BJP to polarise the polls in UP. ”BJP has realised that it is going to lose the polls and so it is doing everything to polarise the elections along communal lines. Their attempts will not succeed as the people of the state have decided to oust the saffron party,” said a senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader as well.
This was all too a familiar tune of what had happened before. During elections in Delhi, the BJP pressed hard the narrative of anti national elements taking over in a shambolic campaign. The protestors in Shaheen Bagh were termed anti nationals and targeted. Despite this the saffron party suffered a heavy defeat.
But this time the hijab controversy whether by design or accident played into BJP’s hands.
Why The Issue Now?
If wearing hijab was such a contentious issue and the uniform civil code was a must have then why the law was not implemented in other states one asks.
In fact in many states across India the hijab has hardly encountered any problem whether it be in schools, colleges or work places. The way one dresses up has never had an impact how elections are impacted unti now.
The head covering isn’t even something new in India. People of different faiths in India cover their head- case in point in Sikhs without causing any controversy.
So why the head covering by a person one faith differ from head covering of another? Only those creating a ruckus over this issue can answer this.
Even moreso why was the law not in force in the iron fist ruled U.P the hot bed of 2022 elections. In UP many schools and colleges permit use of hijab without courting any controversy.
Perhaps BJP were vary of such direct confrontation after the ill fated Delhi campaign. So the seeds were planted in far off in Karnataka.
The battle for Uttar Pradesh became 80 vs 20 as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath pointed out although he later went back on his words.
The events in Karnataka shaped and drove BJP and its campaigning. Although not speaking out directly the underlying preparations for the elections on social media and the word on street pushed the hijab issue as hard as possible.
It was said that what was happening in Karnataka could soon happen across the country if not ‘checked’. BJP had suffered defeats in Delhi and Maharasthra, where elections were fought over local issues, this time the battle was completely turned on its head.
Saffron clad students in colleges in Karnataka became BJP’s saviours and gave them the shot in the arm it needed.
The politics of polarization has helped BJP and this was no different.
This was not the only reason for BJP’s victory in fact far from it. BJP’s win was down its rigorous campaigning, a clear electoral policy and the short comings of the Opposition that failed to counter act and raise issues that would appeal to the locals.
Make no mistake, this was not a heavily communal orientated victory it was a well planned election success.
Will The Hijab Issue Aid BJP In Karnataka 2023?
Assembly elections are due in Karnataka in 2023, one would expect the contentious hijab issue to once again be at the centre stage especially after the High Court upheld the ban on the head cover in schools and colleges.
“Over the past few years, the political clash between the Campus Front of India (CFI) and the BJP has intensified. SDPI is also actively involved in stirring up emotions and we can see it more pronounced on campuses these days,” said a college student leader from Udupi who did not want to be named.
The hijab issue not only brought the CFI and SDPI together to “advise” the six petitioners, it also united the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and the BJP Yuva Morcha.
“Elections have been fought on ideologies. This is getting stronger by the day. We are sure that it will be part of the elections. The young voters will definitely want to talk about it,” said the student leader.
In terms of the influence of political parties in the region, in the 2018 Karnataka assembly polls, the BJP bagged all five seats in the Udupi district. The party also won seven of the eight seats in the Dakshina Kannada region leaving just one seat for Congress.
In the term before that, the Congress had won three seats in Udupi and seven in Dakshina Kannada.
Both political parties claim the hijab controversy will be a non-issue, but that remains to be seen.
Political analyst Prof Chambi Puranik feels that the BJP may use the issue to showcase how they have dealt with a communal issue democratically.
“People are not foolish. They understand which issues have political undertones and which are meant for progress,” Puranik said.
Political scientist Muzaffar Assadi had a different view. He believes that the hijab issue will have a bearing on the elections in Karnataka. “Three things – the hijab issue, Kashmir Files and the confidence drawn from the UP elections – will have an impact on the state elections,” he said.
If the hijab issue had a peripheral impact on elections in U.P and other states expect it to be a focal point during Karnataka 2023.