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BJP's video targeting Mayawati over demonetisation will end up hurting Dalits

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Panini Anand
Panini AnandNov 08, 2017 | 16:45

BJP's video targeting Mayawati over demonetisation will end up hurting Dalits

As part of its "pol khol" (expose) campaign launched to mark "anti-black money day" on November 8 - the first anniversary of the Centre's demonetisation move - the BJP has released a video. The clip is supposed to target those who, according to the BJP, have been hit the hardest by the demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes.

However, it ends up telling a different story.

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The video begins with an overly agitated woman's diatribe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his demonetisation decision. The woman's face and hair resemble that of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati.

 

The woman is sitting in the backdrop of a cupboard full of books and the table near her has two elephant figures on it. Her appearance and demeanour have the aggression often associated with Mayawati. However, her language is arrogant and exaggeratedly out of line. Jokes of this nature about the BSP chief abound in the corridors of power.

The woman is shown criticising demonetisation because it "robbed" her of the hundreds of crores in black money she had stashed away. Such tales about Mayawati's "plight" did the rounds during Uttar Pradesh elections as well.

Video politics

The video is sure to become a hit among those who are not fans of the BSP chief, especially people among the upper castes. The video clip will be shared with the glee of a caste victory, showing as it does the railings of a "vanquished" Dalit leader who had gotten too close to power and politics using money. But the video can also be a self goal. The BJP in the recent past has been wooing Dalits assiduously. In such a scenario, the unnecessary jibes at Mayawati can change the feelings of those who had gravitated towards the party recently.

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Also, the BJP's attack on Mayawati seems to come rather pointlessly at a time when she is politically weak and marginalised. But what the BJP is trying to do is tell upper castes irked by demonetisation that a Dalit neta suffered even more because of it.

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This is the same narrative that was peddled to the poor crippled by the notes ban - the rich and corrupt, who had lost all their loot, were suffering more than them. Gujarat polls are near, and Mayawati is not very relevant in the state. The Dalit population, too, is not large enough to be a decisive factor in the elections.

Thus, what PM Modi is trying to do here, seemingly at a little risk, is tell the upper castes that their sufferings due to demonetisation are far less than what "others" had to go through.

The BJP is also calculating that if the Opposition chooses to make an election issue out of this ridiculing of a Dalit leader, it will deepen caste-based polarisation in society, which will ultimately benefit the party.

But the BJP seems to be overlooking the fact that the video can go viral among the Dalits - by means other than the Opposition's efforts - and this can cost it supporters in a community that has started warming up to it.

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In the hope of big gains, the BJP has taken a big risk. It remains to be seen what returns the move brings to the party.

(Translated from Hindi by Yashee.)

Last updated: March 15, 2018 | 08:31
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