INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesLast week's electoral losses in five states for India's ruling party has led to speculation that its agenda
of promoting hardline Hindu politics has backfired
The TheIndianSubcontinent's Priyanka Pathak reports
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost to the main opposition Congress party in the Hindi-speaking heartland
states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, all of which they previously governed
Local parties swept up the other two states - Telangana and Mizoram - putting the BJP in a tough place ahead of general elections next
year.It appears that after winning no less than 13 state elections since coming to power in 2014, the BJP's seemingly invincible electoral
juggernaut is losing steam.There is a great deal of introspection within and outside the party
And the main question is: has the BJP's recent pursuit of a hardline Hindu agenda - known locally as Hindutva - backfired Will a departure
from an inclusive, development agenda to a polarising, communal one cost the BJP general election tooThese are legitimate questions because
the party deployed the chief minister of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, as its star campaigner in the five states
Mr Adityanath is widely considered a controversial figure because of his well-publicised anti-Muslim comments.He addressed 74 election
rallies while Mr Modi, who is usually his party's star campaigner, addressed just 31.Image copyrightAFPImage caption
Yogi Adityanath is seen as a "poster child" for a hardline Hindu agenda
Mr Adityanath also spent the past few months
courting the Sangh Parivar - a "family" of Hindu nationalist organisations including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a hardline Hindu
organisation with umbilical ties to the BJP
The Sangh Parivar also includes the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which has been at the forefront of a movement demanding the construction of
a Hindu temple on the site of a 16th Century mosque that was torn down by Hindu mobs in 1992, provoking widespread riots that left thousands
dead.Hindus believe Ayodhya, situated in Mr Adityanath's Uttar Pradesh state, is the birthplace of their revered deity Lord Ram, and say
an older temple existed at the site before the mosque was constructed.Mr Adityanath has announced the construction of a giant statue of Ram
in the state, and changed the name of the historical city of Allahabad to the more "Hindu" sounding Prayagraj ahead of the forthcoming Ardh
Kumbh Mela, one of the world's largest religious gatherings.But if Mr Adityanath was hoping to prove to the VHP leadership that he is a
more willing pursuer of the Hindutva agenda and, therefore, a potential alternative to Mr Modi, the recent electoral defeats do not advance
his case.Many observers believe that the BJP's defeats are because the party deviated from the development agenda that swept them to power
The pursuit of Hindutva has backfired, they say.Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Hindus believe the disputed
religious site of Ayodhya is the birthplace of one of their most revered deities
But some in the Sangh Parivar disagree,
insisting that it is actually the opposite that is true
"Just the way people feel disenchanted with the economic policies of the government, the people have also lost faith in this government's
commitment to build the Ram temple
If the VHP and RSS have to come to the street to warn the government about it, what does it tell you What does it tell the electorate" one
of them said.Last week, tens of thousands of Hindus gathered in the capital, Delhi, to demand the expedited construction of the temple and
criticised the government for failing to do so
They chanted a striking slogan directly targeting Mr Modi's stated development-first agenda: "Pehle Ram ko aasan do, phir humko sushasan
do (First give Ram a throne, then give us good governance)".But it must be noted that while Mr Modi has never openly supported these
hardline elements, his silence on issues such as an increasing number of attacks on Muslims over various issues like eating beef - cows are
considered sacred in Hinduism and their slaughter is banned in many Indian states - is interpreted as a tacit approval for muscular Hindu
But he now faces pressure to do more
His government already leads a lacklustre economy
And this renewed pressure to recommit to Hindutva, despite its apparent failure as an electoral agenda, puts Mr Modi's government in a
difficult place.There is also the fact that the RSS played a vital role in the BJP's 2014 election victory by mobilising and galvanising
They are also credited for Mr Modi's rise from state chief minister to a national figure
Apart from spearheading a sophisticated online and digital campaign in his favour, cadres also held 600 district-level meetings across the
country to make Mr Modi a familiar name among the rural population
Clearly, they cannot be ignored or offended
So even as the liberals suggest that Hindutva has backfired and demand that the government refocus on the economy, there are voices within
the BJP which are demanding a more strident return to the party's "core" agenda - including the construction of the Ram temple and renewed
focus on efforts to protect cows - to reassure their base that the BJP has not abandoned them
The less-than-satisfactory economic performance will also make the Hindutva agenda more important, they say
