As its IPL season going on, I can’t help taking a cricket analogy to describe what is happening in the run up to the Election Day on May 10th in Karnataka. So far, BJP was a chasing a challenging target set by Congress and they were on a back foot with some good bowling by Congress. It’s now one over to go and BJP has to score 10 runs. One relief was that a batsman like Dhoni is on the crease whose last name is Modi which is still haunting the Congress selected leader, Rahul Gandhi.
At this juncture the usual plan for the bowling team would have been to bowl really tight with no loose deliveries and bowling in the right areas. Congress which is known now for its terrible strategic goof ups and terrible advisors with nonsensical ideas did exactly what they should not do. The first deliver in the second last was a no ball. The Congress in its enthusiasm to appease the minority which means only Muslims to them although there are so many other communities included in minorities, asserted in their manifesto on May 2 that if they are brought to power they will ban Bajrang Dal like PFI was banned. The Congress bowler in his enthusiasm to bowl fast overstepped the line and it was no ball. The BJP batsman, Bajrang Dal, scored three runs by hitting the ball near the boundary. BJP now had the advantage of a free hit in the next ball and the batsman who stood in the crease with a mischievous smile on his face was none other than NarendraModi. The Congress bowler’s heart sank and he knew immediately that this one mistake of his will prove very expensive for his team. He nervously bowled the next ball and his fears came true as Modi hit a big six which almost went out of the stadium.
Narendra Modi immediately in his speech in Dakshin Kannada invoked Lord Hanuman as Bajrang Bali and asked everyone to chant Bajrang Bali ki jai while pressing the voting button and punish the Congress. Congress team went into damage control mode. Lot of panic was seen in the team when with the six in the last ball. It looked like no one knew what to do. Some said we need to have all the fielders near the boundary and some said we need to have a slip and second slip, as outrageous as it may sound in the death over. Veerappa Moily said there was no proposal to ban Bajrang Dal. D.K. Shivakumar said Congress will build more Hanuman ji temples if they come to power. However, Pawan Khera persisted the ban was the right thing to do albeit in a roundabout, indirect way. It was very clear that the local Karnataka leadership was involved in this decision of putting this statement of Bajrang Dal ban in the manifesto. Congress was trying very hard to lose a winning match.
The BJP has taken up this issue and have a created a very strong narrative around Congress being anti-Hindu. Across the country, the tremor was felt. Lots of temples were abuzz with the sound of Hanuman Chalisa chanting and BJP and Bajrang Dal will keep this going till the day of the elections. I am repeatedly amused by the thinktank in Congress and how they come up with such creative ideas without even thinking well on the reactions that can come. They must do an FMEA (Failure Mode Effect Analysis) for all their strategies to see what can go wrong and what controls they need to put in place to mitigate the risks. I am sure no one in Congress will even think of doing it as none in their party seems to have such farsightedness.
Narendra Modi, the batsman in action who Mr. Kharge called a snake recently, has decided that he will face all the rest of the balls and ensure his team wins. His batting in the roadshows on May 6 is going to be loved by the public and the Congress will be having sleepless nights. With this one wrong step, the Congress has forced the Hindu voters in Karnataka to forget about whether they are Lingayats or Vokkaligas and think as Hindus. Congress can’t cry foul now. If they can play the muslim card, how is it wrong if BJP plays the Hindu card. This one no ball might change the potential win to a loss for Congress. Let’s wait for the third umpire, the Karnataka voters, to give their final decision.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.