The BJP today justified the communally coloured references to faith-based reservation and Pakistan in Narendra Modi and Amit Shah's Bihar campaign, saying they were "necessary" to flatten the Opposition's project to "polarise" Muslim votes.
The BJP's counter had three spurs: a recent interview of Lalu Prasad confidant Abdul Bari Siddiqui, advocating quota for Muslims; a reminder of Nitish Kumar's "reluctance" to question the Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal alias Ahmed Siddibappa after the Bihar police had nabbed him in 2013; and the efforts of "Left Liberals" to "sully" India's image in Pakistan with their "tirade" against the Modi government.
"Is it incumbent on only Hindus to uphold secularism and look the other way when a Muslim hosts beef parties? If Lalu and Nitish are polarising Muslim by whipping up imaginary fears over Modi, what is wrong if we make appeals to Hindus? Some of those so-called intellectual protesters, who returned their awards, have freely given sound bites to Pakistan news channels like Aaj TV, alleging that Modiji is running a government that encourages Hindu terrorism and kills Dalits. Who is tarnishing the country's image?" a source asked.
In an interview to The Times of India a couple of days ago, Bari, who is seeking re-election from Alinagar in Darbhanga, was quoted as saying that while Nitish and Lalu had no plans to tweak Bihar's quota policy, "we would not be committing a sin" by extending reservation to the Muslims.
He invoked recommendations made by the Ranganath Mishra and Sachar committees. Based on the conclusion that Muslims were educationally, socially and economically backward, these committees suggested giving them quotas in education and jobs. Bari added that Muslims lagged behind Dalits on economic and social indices of mobility.
"The interview was a clear indication that Lalu and Nitish would have flagged Bari's views in their campaigns. We pre-empted that, Modi ji raised it before they could," the source claimed.
The BJP waited till the last phase of polling to play the communal card. Several constituencies in the Seemanchal region are Muslim-dominated. The party's belief, according to sources, was that Hindus there would, therefore, be "more receptive" to ideas that "assured their safety and well-being only under a BJP regime".
Another source claimed that the BJP president's warning that a BJP defeat could trigger fireworks in Pakistan was not a "sign of surrender" but carried a "stronger" message for the Hindus. "People need to be reminded that Lalu's return would mean the return of (former Siwan MP) Mohammad Shahabuddin and his brand of anarchy and terror. That's why the use of Pakistan has larger resonance," the source said. Siwan goes to the polls in the fourth phase.
The other "message" was that re-electing the Lalu-Nitish duo would mean "many more" Yasin Bhatkals would get away scot-free after "terror strikes". In 2013, Bihar police arrested Bhatkal from Pokhra in Nepal. But Nitish asked the police to hand him over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for interrogation. In Patna, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi asked: "When Bhatkal was present in the state, why did Bihar police not take him in custody?"
Sources said the BJP would also remind voters that Tahsin Akhtar, the main accused for the 2013 Hunkar Rally blasts, was a relative of Taki Akhtar, a JDU leader from Samastipur.
