Political line | Kejriwal is out

(This is the latest edition of the Political Line newsletter, edited by Varghese K. George. The Political Line newsletter is your weekly look at the political landscape in India. Subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox every Friday. )

Arvind Kejriwal has come out of jail while the BJP is already struggling to maintain control of the narrative. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the main beneficiary of the AAP founder’s sweeping attack on the political class in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. This time, Mr. Modi will be the recipient. Kejriwal claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will replace Modi as prime minister when he turns 75 on September 17 next year. “He made a rule that people should retire at the age of 75. LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sumitra Mahajan and Yashwant Sinha retired at the age of 75,” Kejriwal said.

The Delhi Chief Minister did not stop there. Taking aim at an issue that has become very sensitive for the Bharatiya Janata Party in this election, Mr Kejriwal alleged that there was a power struggle between Mr Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The BJP has deployed its entire batting line-up to take on Mr. Kejriwal. Shah, Adityanath and Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh declared that the 75-year retirement age would not apply to Modi and that he would continue as prime minister for his entire term.

This falls into the pattern for 2024. With his third phase of the election over, only one thing is clear: He won. The BJP has moved from praising his 10-year government performance to explaining its own position. Mr. Modi may remain on the defensive and continue to hold on to his trophy, given his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has an overwhelming majority in India’s parliament. “In the absence of any kind of overwhelming wave, our main rivals are struggling to create a wave in their favor, often through less than honorable means.” I wrote an editorial after the investigation was completed.

My colleague Anuj Kumar, who brings cutting-edge reportage from the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, says, “Reservations about the Bharatiya Janata Party’s rule are surfacing as the polls move towards the Mandal belt.” It has eight main points summarized in the title.

In election campaigns, it is important to formulate a central theme. For the first time in his political career, Mr. Modi is struggling in this regard. He’s not even sure whether to take that as “for Modi” or “against Modi.” He started with “Prime Minister Modi’s assurances” and moved on to several other topics. “If there are two buffaloes, if it is voted on, the Congress will take away one,” the Prime Minister said in Gujarat’s Banaskantha on May 1. Days later, he said Congress was under the influence of big money. “…How much black money have they received from Adani and Ambani?” Modi said. In his speech on buffalo, he spoke in favor of the haves. Ambani-Adani’s speech clearly spoke for the have-nots against the rich.

In the 2019 general election, Mr. Modi addressed the poor despite being accused by opposition parties of having a “suit-boot election”. Ka Sarkar”. As the results in some of the poorest regions of the country showed, even if revenue deprivation did nothing to help them, poor people who believe it harmed the wealthy still voted for him.

In a democracy, if there is a debate between the rich and the poor, the poor will win. The secret of capitalist democracy is not to let that happen. Congress has a plan for redistribution, and Mr. Modi has turned out to be a campaigner of that promise. If people without a buffalo side with the Congress and people with two buffaloes side with Mr. Modi, the Congress wins. Because the majority of people don’t have buffalo at all. Gujarat has a population of about 73 million people and 10 million cattle, including cows and buffaloes. The vast majority of people don’t have buffalo.

Cows and buffaloes have long been a part of politics in India, and many books have been written about them. To name just two: Gathering Around the Cow: Sectarian Conflict in the Bhojpur Region, c. 1888-1917 Written by Gyandenra Pandey, as the title suggests, it is about the cow protection movement. Buffalo Nationalism: A Critique of Spiritual Fascism Written by Kancha Eliah Shepard is exactly what the title suggests.

Federalism Booklet: Notes on India’s Diversity

cow class

Speaking of cows in Gujarat, I highly recommend this report by my colleague Maithri Porecha on workers skinning Dalit cows in Rajkot. Gau Rakshak and an uncooperative government.

pride of telugu

Does the BJP intend to make Hyderabad a Union Territory? The BRS, a regional party, fears that a constitutional amendment to that effect may be attempted by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

NT Rama Rao transformed politics in undivided Andhra Pradesh by founding the Telugu Desam Party, and his legacy lives on in this election. This video commentary by my colleague Ravikanth Reddy sheds light on his personality and politics.

marry a hindu

Recent Supreme Court decisions have brought renewed attention to the legitimacy of Hindu marriages in the absence of rituals and rituals. What did the court say? And what are the potential implications for registered marriages? Here are our explainers:

Gujarati Hindi

Since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, with few exceptions, consistently spoken in Hindi at government events and election rallies to connect with the people of his home state of Gujarat. How do we understand linguistic tolerance in Gujarat? Read Mahesh Langa’s State of Play column here:

From the margin

Rahul Gandhi has promised to formulate a separate Sarna religious code for tribals.