Bengaluru: “My name is Siddaramaiah. My family deity is Siddarameshwara. There is Ram Temple in my village. I am a Hindu too". This was the statement by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during a public function on Thursday indicated him soft peddling Hinduism. What made him say that he too was a Hindu has one simple answer: Assembly polls in 2018. A months ago, it was the same person who declared that he was proud to be called a 'Ahinda' leader.
With Assembly polls round the corner, it has become necessary for the CM to proclaim himself as a Hindu along with his original face of 'Ahinda'. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s temple hop in poll-bound Gujarat may have forced Karnataka Congress leaders to follow their leader as it cannot depend upon on its traditional vote bank and also ignore the majority Hindu community votes. This sudden shift in the CM's 'love' for the Hinduism has baffled many Congressmen.
“It's a big political stunt being enacted by the CM to woo the Hindu votes as he feared that it may go in favor of BJP. In last four and a half years, Mr Siddaramaiah never acknowledged that he was a Hindu as he always identified himself as an 'Ahinda' leader. People are not fools to understand the politics behind it. The Congress party knew well that it cannot come to power with the support of minorities, dalits and backward classes and they need to have the support of veerashaiva-lingayats, brahmins and jains. Though, the number of vote share of brahmin and jain community may be very less when compared to other community voters, but their support is quite crucial at least in some constituencies. As every one seat is precious the Congress does not want to lose it", observed Mr Mahadeva Prakash, a political analyst.
He reminded soon after the historic defeat of the Congress in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, former defence minister, Mr A K Antony who analysed reasons for the party's defeat, had reportedly observed that excessive 'appeasement' of the minority Muslims had been one of the main causes for the defeat. Perhaps, taking this report seriously, Mr Rahul Gandhi was sparing no temples in Gujarat seeking the almighty's blessings for the party victory. The 'yuvaraj' had also described himself as a 'Shiv Bhakth' which shows the grand old party's inclination towards the 'soft-Hindutva'. Though, they did not want to show this openly but their acts speak a lot.
A senior Congress leader on the condition of anonymity told Deccan Chronicle that after celebrating Tipu Jayanthi as a government function (despite strong opposition from a section of people), the Congress had a tag as the party that care for minority and neglect others. The support of the majority community was required or else the voters would make the Congress 'minority' in the coming 2018 Assembly polls. Besides, unnecessary controversy created by the CM in the name of getting the separate religion status for lingayats had angered many. Mr Siddaramaiah was seems to be on 'damage control' exercise post the blistering speeches by several ministers against the Hinduism during the lingayat rallies. Sadly, the politics of convenience than the politics of conviction has now surfaced in the State. "According to me, the immediate task before the CM is to visit temples in run up for the Assembly polls to say he too is a Hindu”.
