Can The Opposition Beat The BJP At Its Own Game?

Opposition parties amplify the nationalist rhetoric ahead of the Lok Sabha battle, showering sops on the armed forces. Can they beat the BJP at its own game?

- Rahul Noronha

On March 1, two days after India’s air strikes on a terrorist camp in Balakot in Pakistan, district magistrates across Madhya Pradesh received a letter from the state culture department asking them to organise functions to commemorate the sacrifice and valour of the soldiers who died in the Pulwama attack. To many of the officials, it was clear where this was coming from. Having been at the receiving end of sharp attacks by the BJP for questioning the cross-border surgical strike in 2016, the Congress had this time changed its strategy in a bid to deny the BJP any gains from nationalistic muscle-flexing in the runup to the Lok Sabha election.

On March 4, a programme called ‘Bhartiyam’ was organised across MP’s district headquarters. Held under the aegis of the culture department, it was old-style Congress nationalism on display, with freedom fighters being feted, patriotic songs being sung and war veterans being sent invites for the shows. Optics-wise, it was no match for the high-decibel campaign launched by the BJP post-Balakot nor was there much footfall, given the sarkari nature of the programme. But it was evident that the Congress was making a conscious effort to strike a nationalistic chord. Chief Minister Kamal Nath participated in one such function at the Shaurya Smarak (war memorial) in Bhopal. Also, on March 1, he had attended the Vande Mataram recital at the state secretariat—an event conceptualised by former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and is held on the first day of every month. Nath has added a march past to it. At the national level, Nath’s party boss Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders, such as Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, lost no time in congratulating the armed forces.