Karnataka election 2018: BJP ups beef stakes, Cong looks to undercut issue

BENGALURU:

Politics over beef

is pronounced and well-established in Karnataka. Since 2010, the BJP and Congress have traded barbs, enacted and reversed legislation on cow slaughter to polarize voters.

However, there is a twist to this tale in the run-up to the assembly elections. The Congress, which has been opposing a cow slaughter ban in the state and holding beef melas to resist the BJP’s move, has smartly changed its tack closer to polls. Senior Congress leader and home minister R Ramalinga Reddy has been issuing statements supporting the cow slaughter ban. “I am personally against killing of animals and I endorse any law that bans slaughtering of animals,” Reddy said, releasing data to suggest that beef exports flourished during the Modi regime.

Describing the BJP as “Beef Janata Party”, the Congress social media wing has been running a campaign, taking potshots at the saffron party on the beef ban issue. The BJP has come up with its own video to counter it, titled ‘Gundu Rao Military Hotel’ with ‘Siddu beef biryani’ as special menu.

A senior BJP functionary said his party will play the Hindutva card to project the Siddaramaiah government as “anti-Hindu”, and beef will be one of the major issues, apart from attacks and murder of Hindu activists and widespread appeasement of minorities.

The question is, will beef politics really fetch votes? Sandeep Shastri, a political analyst, said: “I don’t think that beef will actually fetch votes, yet the larger agenda the issue represents is important. For the BJP, an important strategy in this election is to paint the ruling Congress as anti-Hindu in its policies and actions. The Lingayat religious minority issue and cow slaughter ban are all alternative routes to the wider Hindutva agenda.”

On the other hand, the Congress is lobbing the ball into the BJP’s court by accusing it of double standards – be it in beef exports or trying to project itself as representing majority Hindu interests, albeit using the ‘social justice’ route and temple run.


Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.