Will Nuh violence provide an escape route to Khattar

New Delhi: The Nuh sectarian violence in Haryana may have provided a reprieve to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar for the time being.

The senior leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party feels that Hindu voters are now seemingly polarized ahead of crucial Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state scheduled for next year, ensuring a reprieve for Khattar. A situation not unlike the 2013 Muzaffarnagar in Western Uttar Pradesh is seemingly being witnessed in Haryana, sources pointed out. And the party doesn't seem to be in a haste to act against its own government and send out the wrong signals to the electorate.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal, affiliates of the BJP’s ideological parent the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, have already announced their plan to resume on August 28 the Jalabhishek Yatra in Nuh.

The Yatra was abandoned midway on July 31 after violence broke out between Muslims and Hindus. The move to re-launch the yatra by the RSS affiliates is also being seen as an attempt to keep the issue alive and help aid in uniting the Hindu nationalist votes in the region.

It was felt by a section of BJP leadership that the 10-year-long anti-incumbency being faced by Khattar may be reversed by the recent violence. In fact, it could help ensure bringing various castes and communities like Jats, Yadavs and Brahmins, who had been angry with the BJP’s Haryana government, under a united Hindu fold, sources said.

Till a few weeks ago, the situation was so bad that several BJP leaders from these communities had to take up the cause of their respective castes and complain to the top saffron leadership against Khattar, baying for his scalp.

The saffron leadership is now expected to reach out to the voters of the majority community in Haryana and point towards the causes and effects of sectarian violence, while at the same time also calling on various castes to stand behind the Hindu nationalist cause. In effect uniting the Hindu voters in the state, sources said.

Interestingly, the polarising effect of Nuh violence is also being attempted in the neighbouring state of Rajasthan, albeit by Congress. Eyeing the Muslim community voters of Rajasthan, its Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had sought an immediate arrest of cow vigilante Monu Manesar, for allegedly fomenting violence in the region.

Rajasthan’s 200-member Legislative Assembly is scheduled for polls later this year. However, the Rajasthan BJP isn’t getting disheartened by the Congress’ attempts as it is hoping to reap the benefits of reverse polarization in the polls later this year.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a third term, the BJP can ill afford to lose Haryana. While the BJP had secured seven out of the ten Lok Sabha seats in 2014, the state had given all 10 seats to the saffron unit in 2019. And the BJP hopes to repeat its 100 per cent strike rate in Haryana in 2024 by resolving this leadership crisis well in time.

The BJP had secured 49 seats, out of 90 seats, in the 2014 Haryana Assembly polls, forming its first-ever government in the state under Khattar. BJP had to ally with the JJP in 2019 after its seats fell short of the halfway mark due to rebel candidates.

However, with the eruption of violence in Nuh and its aftereffects being witnessed in the state and across the region, the saffron front hopes that the issue may end up helping it secure power in the state for a third time in a row and also aid in its 2024 Lok Sabha campaign.