May 2014 was the time when Hindus thought that their time had finally come when they gave an overwhelming majority to BJP in Lok Sabha elections. Sadly the dream did not last for too long as it is already two years since the LS elections but there is hardly anything concrete on the ground which can be used to say that BJP has worked on a pro-Hindu agenda. Yes, it is not anti-Hindu like Congress but it has hardly shown any respect to the genuine Hindu agenda. RTE is still hounding Hindu schools, temple money is still looted by the government, and on top of that NGOs and courts are mounting a direct assault on local Hindu traditions like Jallikattu, the Shani temple or Sabarimala. We hear noises about students shouting anti-national slogans in JNU but none of the ring masters got sacked nor any changes made to history books. On top of that Smriti Irani boasts it as her achievement that she has not yet touched the books circulated by the UPA government.
What makes it worse is the meek behaviour of BJP which does not think even once before abandoning its real Hindu followers. It has started to think that it was the development plank which made it win the last elections and it will make it win again in the future. Seems like BJP is hell bent on following the course it charted during the 2004 elections by projecting “India Shining” and getting dumped by the voters. So not only has BJP distanced itself from supporters like Kamlesh Tiwari in the real world, but it also frequently disowns its social media followers.
The reason that core Hindus find themselves in this position is because BJP knows that these supporters have no outside option other than BJP. All other options like electing Congress are not only anti-Hindu but are also much more disastrous to the economy. So BJP thinks it has a captive vote base as hardcore Hindus have nowhere else to go. Also, since BJP still follows the left-dominated liberal agenda once the elections are over, these Hindus are increasingly seen as a liability rather than an asset. This explains why career politicians don’t think twice before abusing them.
So, what is the way out? Core Hindus cannot let BJP walk around and renege on all the election promises. Thankfully Game Theory comes to our rescue. Dharmics need to use the “Stick and Carrot” principle from Game Theory to discipline BJP’s behaviour. In simple words — how does the Stick and Carrot principle work? Imagine you are the manager and have to ensure that the interests of your employees are aligned with your goals. The simple way to ensure this is to reward them for good behaviour (carrot) while punishing them for bad behaviour (stick). Sticking to just rewards or punishment alone will not ensure good behaviour.
In BJP’s case, electoral wins serve as the carrot but there is no stick to punish them when they deviate from ideal behaviour. This means Hindus need to act strategically and develop a stick to beat BJP into submission so that it implements their agenda. BJP thinks that its Hindu voters are captive and have no other choice and hence can take their support for granted. This needs to change and Hindus need to punish BJP for bad behaviour. The carrot is more than evident — the 2019 LS elections. But what should be this punishment or stick?
Core strategy:
- Punish BJP for all deviations from the Hindu agenda by defeating them in all local body elections (like panchayat and municipality) till 2019 to send a message to their local leaders. This will generate feedback from the ground that BJP cannot take Hindus for granted. Small BJP leaders get benefit from local elections and so local elections matter a lot to them. Also, they need to be motivated for campaigning in big elections so top BJP leaders need to keep them in good humour. So, if you defeat these foot soldiers it will send a direct message to the high command in BJP that Hindus are not stupid. Don’t select Congress or AAP — go for good local candidates.
- Let BJP win state elections so that it does not have the excuse of no majority in Rajya Sabha. Although this is a bad excuse — because like Congress, BJP too could have used CBI to implement its agenda — since BJP fanboys almost always cite this reason for BJP’s inaction it is essential to give them a chance to have majority in RS. Although it is most likely BJP would do nothing even with RS majority given how it has kept quiet on all core Hindu issues. Temple control and RTE are not even anti-minority issues to be shot down in RS if BJP plays its cards well. In any case, give them one chance to prove themselves.
- Defeat high-profile traitors like Jaitley, Fadnavis etc. in state as well as national elections. There should be zero tolerance for high-profile sell-outs. Make sure that Dev Fadnavis is destroyed for his weak-kneed response on the Shani temple issue. Shivraj should be defeated for selling out Hindus on the Bhojshala issue. Similar punishment should be meted out to Jumla Rajnath and Jumla Irani for their inaction. Let local parties like Shiv Sena and other pro-Hindu parties win on seats against these big shots to send a clear message that Hindus have zero tolerance for deviation. Also ensure that hardcore Hindus like Uma Bharti and Yogi Adityanath are elected with thumping majorities to send an even clearer message.
Also, economic right is still a minuscule fraction of BJP supporters as most of its supporters are actually core Dharmics. So core Dharmics have all the shots to call. Punishing local BJP leaders in local elections will not dampen efforts to implement pro-Hindu policies at the top either. So this game is for Hindus to win. It is about time Hindus stopped complaining about democracy and started using democracy to their advantage.
Sticking to the above strategy will give Hindus a say in the formation of policies post elections and keep the top BJP leaders on a tight leash. They should be given the choice between perform or perish. If 15% Muslims can enforce their agenda and make politicians dance to their tunes, there is no reason that Hindus can’t do it if they are strategic. And if Hindus stick to this carrot and stick approach, even if BJP doesn’t deliver for core Hindus then some other party will rise to fulfil their political agenda in the future.