The inauguration of the Ram Mandir on Monday was marked by religious fervour. The function also had politics written all over with the Prime Minister (PM) doing the consecration of the Ram Lalla idol with the RSS sarsanghchalak and the Uttar Pradesh CM in attendance. This is hardly surprising since the temple has been a constant in the BJP’s manifesto. PM Narendra Modi framed the moment as the beginning of a new kaal chakra and called for expanding “our consciousness from dev to desh, Ram to rashtra, from deity to nation”. He was drawing a direct line from God to the Nation, without any hint of triumphalism. This call will likely feature prominently in the BJP’s campaign.
The Opposition saw it coming, of course. Except that it has been unable to figure out a language to respond to the BJP’s direct appeal, which the PM has now taken beyond the realm of religion to development, progress, and nationhood. The INDIA bloc has been sending out confusing signals on where its constituents stand on the mandir. The confusion was most evident when the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust invited Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, who declined the invitation alleging that the BJP had turned it into a political event. However, leaders of the UP Congress visited Ayodhya ahead of the consecration ceremony and two senior leaders attended the function. On Monday, TMC leader Mamata Banerjee visited religious places of different faiths, held an interfaith rally in Kolkata, and spoke about the Babri mosque. In Bengaluru, chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah made the case that his party stood for Gandhiji’s Ram, implying that this is different from the BJP’s Ram. The AAP held Sundar Kand paths in Delhi ahead of the consecration ceremony while the Shiv Sena (UBT) has been highlighting its sainiks’ contribution to the demolition of Babri mosque.
It is obvious that no party wants to be seen as opposed to the Ram temple for the fear of being branded anti-Hindu. Therein lies a story of a dramatic turnaround in Indian politics. In the 1990s, constituents of the National Democratic Alliance, had forced the Vajpayee-led BJP to shelve its demand for the mandir. The Modi-led BJP has turned the tables on other parties, which are now searching for a political language to challenge the party without being seen as anti-Ram, and, because of the way the PM framed the occasion, anti-India. What they come up with will have consequences not just for the INDIA bloc’s electoral fortunes but the future of the polity itself.
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