Togadias brand of extreme right-wing politics has been negated by the people at large in the state he belongs to. Modi’s stated concept of secularism, “India First”, comes in direct conflict with Togadia’s Hindutva fancies. But that does not mean Togadia cant cause damage. To make his Hindu state claims, Togadia chose a venue near Ahmedabad in the vicinity of Modi’s home constituency, a move that could embarrass Modi and raise fresh questions on how to deal with Hindu hardliners. In the 2012 assembly elections, those who travelled across Gujarat noted that a substantial segment of the RSS-VHP had pitted itself against Narendra Modi and the BJP. Over three months, the outfits leaders and workers sweated it out to damage Modi and boost whatever negligible prospects Keshubhai Patel and Gordhan Zadaphia’s Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) had against the BJP strongman. They knew that it was not possible for the Congress and the GPP to defeat Modi, so the purpose was to portray Modi as leading a divided Parivar in Gujarat and somehow reduce his victory margin in terms of seats won. The idea was to scuttle his national ambitions. In the elections, it won Modi support from a large number of people for whom good governance and the availability of basic amenities was far more important than the worn out rhetoric of the VHP. The slow, but visible, tilt of of some segments of Muslims in Gujarat towards Modi coincides with marginalisation of the VHP in the state. In the run-up to the assembly elections, one could sense that the complete banishment of the rowdy elements of the VHP-Bajrang Dal to the fringes came as a huge relief to the Muslim community. Modi may have ensured this for his own convenience, but he took the bull by the horns and won. His win attracted the ire of sections within the SANGH PARIVAR, but its default beneficiaries were people from the minority community. Togadias conflict with Modi is both political and personal. In the 2007 assembly election, Togadia was forced to stay out of Gujarat, and the VHPs firebrand is perturbed by the loss of clout in his own state. But Modi cant afford to let Togadia reclaim lost ground. Modi’s stakes are much higher now. Togadias claims on creating a Hindu state in Gujarat is intended to damage Modi. That he made the claim in the presence of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh : RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat should worry Narendra Modi.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 06:05:41 +0000
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