CURTAINS HAVE COME down on the bitter, no-holds-barred election campaign in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, resulting in a sweeping majority for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra and the JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand.
In both states, the ruling coalitions have staged a comeback, indicating a pro-incumbency wave. While several factors influenced the final outcome, the campaigning will go down in history as one of the most communal and divisive ever.
I recall mentioning this earlier, right after the campaigns for the last West Bengal assembly elections and the previous Lok Sabha elections concluded. Unfortunately, the standards of political rhetoric, particularly with communal overtones, have been deteriorating, and the just-concluded election campaign can now be termed the most blatantly communal.
The elections in the two states, especially in Maharashtra, had high stakes for both the BJP and its alliance partners, as well as for Congress and its allies. The surprising outcome in the Haryana elections, where the BJP defied expectations and outpaced Congress, gave a boost to the BJP-led campaign in Maharashtra. However, it was evident that the BJP did not want to take any chances in winning the most prosperous and second-largest state in the country.
While the Congress and other alliance parties must take the blame for past slogans like “Maut ka Saudagar” for Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have far exceeded them with their communal statements and slogans.
Slogans like “Batenge to Katenge” and “Ek hain to safe hain” have clear communal overtones that even a child could understand. References to a community that produces more children or whose members are labeled “ghuspetiyas,” and claims that they will take away mangalsutras, land, and gold, are overtly communal.
During the Lok Sabha elections, Modi had claimed that every vote for the opposition would be used to distribute wealth earned by Hindus to Muslims, who he said have more children and are infiltrators. He even suggested that Congress might distribute Hindu women’s “mangalsutras” to Muslims.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah took the communal rhetoric further by describing “infiltrators” as termites and telling tribals that they would take their innocent daughters as their third or fourth wives.
Ironically, party leaders have criticized Congress and other parties for demanding a caste census, claiming it is “divisive” and would lead to social tensions.
Among the most vocal and communal leaders are Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. They rarely discuss development, progress, or the achievements of BJP-led governments. Their sole target is the Muslim community, and they make it a point to descend further with each campaign.
Unfortunately, neither the Supreme Court nor the Election Commission of India has intervened to curb this tide. They have turned a blind eye or a deaf ear to the communalization of the elections.
Recently, the Election Commission did intervene—not to address communal overtones—but to urge political parties to promote inclusivity for people with disabilities, including avoiding terms like dumb (gunga), deaf (behra), or lame (langda) in political discourse.
While this was a positive and appropriate step, why has the Commission refrained from holding accountable politicians who go to any lengths to communalize the situation and divide society?
The winners of the elections in the two states deserve best wishes, but political leaders must introspect and reject communalism in the best interests of the country. 
Also Read: Keep the Communal Pot Boiling
Vipin Pubby
The author, a freelance journalist, is a former Resident Editor of Indian Express, Chandigarh, and reported on the political developments in Jammu and Kashmir, North-Eastern India, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab in his long, illustrious career.
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