From Flag is My Religion to Shiv Bhakt: How Rahul Gandhi is Using 'Hindutva Lite' to Make a Comeback

New Delhi: In the 2006 Congress plenary session in Hyderabad, taking his first steps on the national political stage, Rahul Gandhi had said “the flag is my religion”. With that one line, he set the tone of his own brand of politics. Over the years, he kept attacking the BJP and RSS as communal.

It took a drubbing in 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the fear of another one in 2019 for him to make a U-turn and opt for religion as one of the cornerstones of his campaign strategy.

Sources tell News18 that Congress will go all in with its ‘soft’ Hindutva agenda in the run-up to the assembly polls in five states and the general elections next year. Rahul himself will visit the Jyotir Mutt, considered to be one of the ultimate pilgrimage destinations for Hindus, and make a round of all ‘key’ temples, especially during his campaigns.

While party workers have been asked not to overplay his Kailash Mansarovar yatra, subtle references to it cannot be missed. When Rahul went to Bhopal to kickstart the poll campaign, posters depicting him as a “Shiva Bhakt”, showing him pouring holy water on a lingam were plastered all over the city. Women holding a ‘kalash’ were lined up to welcome him.

This was just one of the pointers picked up by the Congress from the report presented by former defence minister AK Antony post the 2014 poll debacle.

The report, among many other issues, said the perception that Congress was pro-minorities had helped the BJP reinforce its hard Hindutva image, which helped it sweep critical states like Uttar Pradesh.

Illustration by Mir Suhail (News18.com)

As part of this strategy, Congress spokespersons have been asked not to go on TV debates that could “polarise’ the political discourse. They have been asked to avoid any controversy on issues such as cow slaughter, mob lynchings and the Ram Mandir.

The mandate given to them is to avoid talking about any issue that could help peddle the brief that Congress was a “fake Hindu” party or is against Hindutva issues.

An internal assessment conducted by the party revealed that the strategy seems to be working, at least in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

“It has got the RSS riled, which is why they are now going in for a makeover,” a senior Congress leader said, referring to outfit chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks pushing for inclusivity.

He reads the comments as the RSS sending a message to the BJP that since Congress is now playing the same game, the BJP would have to change its narrative a bit.

The Congress leader pointed out that Bhagwat said politics of “Kabristan and Mandir is the refuge of a political party that are unsure. The RSS also reached out to the Muslims. The PM spent time with the Dawoodi Bohra community in MP. The stress is now on governance.”

But there is also some degree of circumspection in the party, with some questioning if this is the right strategy, especially in states where the Congress is facing anti-incumbency.

The most glaring example of this is MP, where Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been in power for three terms but the Congress has stressed only on its credentials as a Hindu party.

In a surprise move, even someone like Kamal Nath is talking the Hindutva language and promised that gaushalas will be set up in all districts if the Congress comes to power.