SC verdict on religion a blow to parties ahead of polls

New Delhi: The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling, directing politicians not to seek votes in the name of religion, caste or creed, close on the heels of Assembly elections, including in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, is likely to deal a severe blow to the poll prospects of major political parties, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party. The campaigns of these three parties, in the fray in UP, are targeted at retaining and enhancing their main vote base of upper caste Hindus, dalits and Muslims, respectively.

The apex court’s judgment will also impact the Akali Dal in Punjab, which too goes to elections soon, alongwith Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

The Akali Dal enjoys a formidable support of Jat Sikhs, particularly in the rural belt. But with the Supreme Court’s ruling, it will find it difficult to rake up the “panthik agenda” to garner votes.

A seven judge bench on Monday, increasing the ambit of the Representation of People Act, ordered that any appeal by anyone connected to the candidate in the name or religion, race, caste, community or language would amount to corrupt practice and could result in disqualification.

The country’s political system, however, is sharply divided on religious and caste lines, particularly in a state like UP where votebank polarisation has been the norm.

For instance, the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, in which 60 lives were lost, led to massive polarisation of voters, particularly in western UP, and was an important factor that led the BJP’s massive win in the state during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

On Tuesday, however, the BJP was quick to distance itself from “religious polarisation,” with home minister Rajnath Singh clarifying that the party “never did” it, “nor will it indulge in it.”

When asked whether the BJP would rake up the Ram temple issue in UP, Mr Singh said the matter was sub-judice. “BJP neither did politics of polarisation nor will it do in future. I feel if it was doing politics of polarisation, it would not have got a clear majority in Parliament… I fully agree with whatever the apex court has said. Politics should not be on the lines of caste, cult or religion. Politics should be only in the name of humanity and justice,” he said, while cautioning the “so-called secular parties” not to seek votes in the name of religion, caste or creed.

The fact, however, is that in UP, both the BSP and SP are already making extra efforts to woo their tradition support base, starting with sizeable representation from these communities in their list of candidates. There is already discussion among political circles in UP as to which way the Muslim votes will swing in the wake of the crisis in the Samajwadi Party. Trying to cash in, BSP president Mayawati on Tuesday announced that her party would give tickets to 97 Muslims and 87 dalits.

A former senior functionary of the Election Commission, adopting a cautious approach to the court’s order, said, “Since legal process in India are extremely lengthy and tedious, I feel political parties will find a way out to influence voters in the name of religion and caste. The Supreme Court will have to ensure that all complaints of violations are dispensed in a time bound manner so that it acts as a strong deterrent.”

Senior AIMIM leader and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi said, “The Supreme Court has added a few things under Section 123 of the RP Act, but the judgment may clash with the Hindutva verdict as saffron parties can contend they are not seeking votes in the name of religion.’’