Indian elections: BJP relies on religious cards

As the general elections of India are midway through the voting, an impression is gaining the ground that the forerunner in the polls -- the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its prime ministerial nominee, Narendra Modi, are gradually veering towards "Hindutva," despite protests otherwise. The party and Mr. Modi have been insisting that they are for all religions and are keen to look after the interests of the minorities. Modi has also sought to brush aside the allegations of his complicity in the 2002 Gujarat riots and says that he should be hanged on the streets if found guilty. "Why should I seek an 'apology' for that incident ?" he asks and says that if he is really guilty, such apology means nothing, and instead, he should be hanged so that, no such incident occurs in 100 years. Modi told this to an interviewer. The 2002 riots killed more than 2000 people, mostly the minorities.
The BJP's election manifesto mentions the construction of "Ram temple" at the disputed site of the "Babri Masjid" at Adhoya in Uttar Pradesh and also enforce uniform civil code for all, which means the Muslims would not enjoy any different treatment on the basis of their religious laws. Other pledges also reflect BJP's increasing stance on "Hindutva", which did not receive so much stress in the 2004 and 2009 elections.
The BJP says it is for all religions and also included some prominent Muslims in the party including reputed journalist and former Congress MP M. J. Akbar, who was also known as a friend of late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He has changed side with the BJP abandoning the party that he represented in the parliament for two terms from his native Bihar state. True, defections or joining political parties are taking place to some extent also in other parties as well.
The BJP feels that its religious card is paying off well and the hard line faction in the party emphasizes more on the "Hindutva" compared to that of the liberal leaders.
Earlier, the polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajstahan, Chhatishgarh, Mizoram and important Delhi were seen as a "Dress Rehearsal" for the national voting and the outcome reinforced the impression that the main opposition BJP's  prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi stands a clear chance to become the next leader of the country unless the fortune swings the other way. Despite his tainted image as a "communal" politician, who is accused of having patronised the killings of  the minorities in his Gujarat state in 2002, Modi appears to be making steady progress towards becoming the prime minister. Most surveys and gallop polls favour Modi, but the Congress says such assessments were proved wrong in 2004 and 2009.
Many analysts feel that the United progressive Alliance (UPA) government, led by the Congress, looks to be  in a difficult situation as far as its chances of retaining the power are concerned. Its slim chances notwithstanding, the return of the party to power can not be fully ruled out because of complex coalition culture of the Indian politics.  
The reasons for a declining popularity of Congress are the growing dissatisfaction of the people against the federal government, whose current term is marked by a string of corruption-related scandals involving the high-ups. India's economy is also not performing well in recent times. This is reflected in the success of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) that has been campaigning virulently against the corruption, which the new party describes as the biggest menace for India. It alleges that the influential persons are going scot-free or treated with knit-glove approach, despite committing serious graft-related offences.
The Congress and other secular parties consider the  choice of Modi as the prime minister of India by the BJP as "wrong decision" since he is incapable of uniting the vast country of different religions and races. Modi is severely criticized for not protecting the minorities during then 2002 riots in Gujarat when he was the chief minister. Allegations are also there that he abetted the killings. However, Modi has not been charged. In his recent speeches, Modi  has been stressing on Hindu-Muslim unity as being needed for taking India ahead. He is otherwise an able chief minister, who has taken his party to power in Gujarat for three successive terms.
The Lok Shaba, the lower house of parliament, that is directly elected by the people, has 543 seats and any party or allies must have a minimum of 272 seats for forming the government. The Congress bagged 206 seats in the last polls in 2009 and succeeded in heading a government with the support of its allies. This time, some reports and surveys say that its tally may come down below 100 and worse, even further down. Congress says that such views are deliberate propaganda to belittle the "great party".
However, which party would form the government after the polls remains a complex question since the loss for the Congress is not necessarily any gain for the BJP, which of course, is the frontrunner. A number of smaller and regional parties, which wield considerable influence in different states, may be a big factor and their influential leaders also stand a chance to become the prime minister because of the coalition culture of the Indian political scene. The BJP is expected to emerge as the largest group in parliament but whether it would be able to garner support of 272 members with its allies is very much doubtful. The smaller parties and their leaders would come into play in such an event as the deciding factors. But it is BJP's increasing emphasis on religious cards that worries many people about the basic credentials of multi-religious and multi-lingual India, in the event of the BJP's coming to power.
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