With Muslims’ Support, What Does the Victory of the Congress Party Over Modi Mean in India?

On May 10, 2023, Muslims achieved a significant victory when they supported the Indian National Congress Party and together defeated the ruling extremist party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in Karnataka, southern India, with a landslide defeat.

The ruling party of Narendra Modi faced a setback as the opposition Congress Party emerged victorious in the Karnataka state elections, showcasing their strong performance.

This victory had a special impact, considering what Karnataka witnessed in February 2022, when Hindu extremists prevented veiled Muslim female students from entering schools and deprived them of education.

The Hindu extremist organization Bajrang Dal (Brigade of Hanuman) also launched attacks against them.

Kaneez Fatima, a veiled Muslim woman who participated in the protests against the veil ban, emerged victorious and became the Education Minister of the state, defeating her extremist Hindu opponent.

This marks the first and most significant defeat for the Hindu party in state elections, which are expected to be followed by the general elections in 2024. It serves as a vital awakening against this fascist party that has turned India into a sectarian state that antagonizes Muslims and minorities in general.

This election in Karnataka is the first of five crucial state elections this year that may shape the legislative battle scheduled for April and May 2024.

With Bharatiya Janata Party losing power in Karnataka, it no longer holds authority in any of the five southern Indian states.

This is the first major electoral showdown between the Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Congress Party since the conviction of the latter’s leader, Rahul Gandhi, for defamation in March 2023, which resulted in him losing his seat in Parliament.

The election results will have significant implications, including lifting the veil ban in schools and pursuing a ban on the extremist organization Bajrang Dal, which is affiliated with the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and operates based on the extremist Hindutva ideology.

 

Important Victory

In detail, the National Congress Party won around 136 seats out of a total of 224, while the ruling extremist Hindu party secured only 65 seats (compared to its 104 seats in the 2018 elections).

These elections were a significant political event, eagerly awaited by many in the country. This came after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in the state in 2018 and began transforming it into a “purely Hindu” state, restricting the rights of Muslims and subjecting veiled Muslim women to attacks in schools.

Additionally, the elections gained importance due to the acts of violence committed by the extremist Hindu organization Bajrang Dal, which is affiliated with the ruling party, against Muslims and minorities, resulting in the deaths of some individuals under the pretext of “cleansing” India from non-Hindus. Furthermore, corruption among members of the Hindu party was widespread.

The opposition Congress Party declared in its electoral program that it would ban this organization, which also fights against Muslims consuming beef, an animal sacred to Hindus.

The promise of imposing a ban on the group Bajrang Dal upon winning the elections is receiving significant attention from both voters and political participants.

Many Indian Muslims and others are angered by the discriminatory practices of this Hindu extremist organization, which is considered a terrorist group.

This pledge has garnered widespread interest due to its potential to eliminate extremism and sectarian violence in the state and promote peaceful coexistence among different religions.

This decision may contribute to enhancing the reputation of the National Congress Party and restoring confidence in its ability to govern effectively. If successful in fulfilling its promise, the party may experience a resurgence in power throughout India.

Bajrang Dal, a right-wing Hindu nationalist organization, was founded in 1984 and serves as the youth wing of the global Hindu organization Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The latter is affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which advocates for the extremist Hindutva ideology (Hindu nationalism) that seeks to establish Hindu dominance in India and reject non-Hindu religions, particularly Islam and Christianity.

A report by Scroll.in on May 14, 2023, states that the defeat in Karnataka serves as a valuable lesson for the Bharatiya Janata Party regarding the limits of implementing their rigid Hindutva ideology.

The report suggests that the party’s focus on religious fanaticism, without addressing the economic problems faced by Indians, has yielded counterproductive results.

It has unified the voices of Muslims, minorities, and even some Hindus against its discriminatory practices.

The Indian Caravan Magazine, on May 8, 2023, highlights the rare electoral courage displayed by the Congress Party in calling for a ban on the Bajrang Dal organization to curtail extremists and protect minorities from bigotry and violence. However, the implementation remains a challenge.

The magazine emphasizes that the opposition should not shy away from confronting the ideological Bharatiya Janata Party and should not remain in a defensive position. The party’s ideas are in conflict with the shared human values in India.

 

The Expected Return of the Veil

One of the anticipated gains from the defeat of the Hindu party in the elections in Karnataka, the eighth-largest state in India, is justice for veiled female students who have been persecuted, expelled, and denied education.

Kaneez Fatima, a Muslim member of the Congress Party, stated that the Congress (the state’s Parliament) will lift the ban on wearing the veil in educational institutions in the state of Karnataka.

“God willing, we will reverse the hijab ban in the coming days, and we will get those girls back to classrooms, and they will be able to appear for their exams,” Fatima said. “They have lost two precious years.”

Fatima contested the state parliamentary elections for the first time in 2018 after the death of her husband, and led a protest by Muslim girls in the city of Kalaburagi against the veil ban.

Under the previous government of the ruling party, the state witnessed extensive repression of Muslims, including the ban on the veil in schools and educational institutions and the exclusion of veiled students from exams.

Controversy erupted regarding wearing the veil in educational institutes in Karnataka in December 2021 when a college barred six veiled girls from attending classes. The girls organized protests within the college and the state.

On February 5, 2022, the Karnataka state government issued a ban on the veil, claiming that it is a garment that “undermines equality, integrity, and public order.”

The Karnataka High Court supported the ban on March 15, 2022, stating that “wearing the veil is not necessary in Islam,” and the matter is still pending in the courts.

Ironically, the extremist Indian Minister B.C. Nagesh, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party responsible for banning Muslim girls from wearing the veil in schools and also prohibiting Muslims from consuming halal meat, lost his seat in the Kodagu region.

This occurred despite it being one of the strongest nationalist Hindu areas in India, as reported by The News Minute on May 13, 2023.

During its tenure in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party supported a number of laws and policies targeting Muslims, such as the ban on the veil in schools, preventing vendors from establishing shops in “Hindu areas,” and canceling the allocation of 4% of government and educational jobs for them.

Anti-conversion laws were passed, which criminalize Hindus converting to Islam based on a Hindu conspiracy theory alleging that Muslims lure Hindu women into converting to Islam, referred to as “Love Jihad.”

Muslims were also killed on allegations of consuming beef, and space was created for armed Hindu groups such as Bajrang Dal to commit mass killings and other hate crimes against Muslims under the laws enacted by the party.

 

Upcoming Challenges

According to The New York Times on May 13, 2023, the defeat of Modi’s party in the state of Karnataka, South India, is a morale boost for the opposition Congress Party and strengthens its position ahead of the upcoming 2024 general elections.

The article noted that the defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the national level is still a distant possibility, considering the blows it dealt to the Congress Party in the 2014 and 2019 general elections.

However, analysts have warned of challenges that Modi may face as he seeks a third term at the beginning of 2024.

The Guardian also emphasized the same point on May 13, 2023, stating that the Congress Party’s victory over the BJP “deals blow to prime minister, who will seek third term in power at next year’s general election.”

It clarified that this victory ahead of the general elections could serve as a motivation to form an opposition coalition to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power in the country since 2014, and put the Congress Party in a stronger position to strike a deal with other parties.

Indian activists believe that what happened in Karnataka could serve as a lesson for the Congress Party to replicate in other states if it proceeds with proper planning to defeat the BJP.

According to The News Minute on May 15, 2023, the successful experience of countering the attempts of the BJP government to undermine democracy by fueling racism and hatred is attributed to the organized resistance of civil society organizations.

It affirmed that the civil society organizations in Karnataka, comprising activists, ordinary citizens, lawyers, doctors, and non-governmental organizations, representing different castes, religions, and genders, played a role in the defeat of the Hindu nationalist party in the elections.

It explained that they capitalized on the racism, oppression, and corruption of the ruling party, as well as its failure to address the livelihood needs of the population, and its focus on spreading hatred against Muslims.

This led to the formation of alliances against this divisive entity, resulting in its defeat in the elections.

The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) stated on May 15, 2023, that despite Narendra Modi holding around 20 election rallies in Karnataka to support his party and mobilize Hindu voters, the Hindu nationalist party lost the elections.