Patna: As widely anticipated, the National Democratic Alliance coalition parties in Bihar have incorporated the death of Sushant Singh Rajput into their campaigns for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
None other than the Chief Minister of State, Nitish Kumar, who also heads Janata Dal (United), displayed his name at a virtual political rally. His coalition partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party, had gotten off to a quicker start and incorporated Singh’s images into his campaign propaganda.
The untimely death of the Rajput had shocked millions of his fans, not only in Bihar but elsewhere as well, the prime minister said, adding that the ongoing investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation should be able to draw the truth and ensure justice. .
“His father filed an FIR in Patna when he found out that a proper investigation (in Mumbai) was not being conducted,” said Kumar, doing an inquiry into the Shiv Sena-NCP congressional government in Maharashtra. “Finally, when the grieving father requested an investigation from CBI, we wasted no time recommending it and the Center, fortunately, gave its consent in time. Now, we can hope that justice will be done in the matter, ”said the prime minister, who is seeking his fourth consecutive term in office.
The BJP arts and culture wing on Saturday released masks and stickers with photos of the late actor along with the hashtag ‘JusticeforSushantSinghRajput’ and an emotional new catchphrase in Hindi: “Na bhule hai, na bhulne denge (We have not forgotten it, nor will we let it forget it) ”. More than 25,000 stickers of this type and 30,000 masks will be distributed to the public. According to the convener of the cell, Varun Kumar Singh, the distribution of these masks and stickers has been going on for some time, but they have only been noticed now.
A video on Sushant’s ‘life and struggles’ has also been produced which will soon be released by BJP IT Cell on social media.
Varun Kumar Singh says he has been part of the campaign to demand justice for the Rajput since its inception. He had convinced BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad, Chief Deputy Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and Ram Kripal Yadav to meet the actor’s family. According to Singh, the matter of the actor’s death is not political but emotional for him.
Calling it an expression of sentiment, Bihar BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand tweeted: “I welcome the Bihar BJP Art and Culture Cell movement to commemorate Sushant Singh through a variety of programs. We have our own way of expressing our feelings towards Sushant. Giving it a political color is absolutely wrong. “
Does BJP stoke public sentiment over Rajpur’s death to avoid real trouble?
While Nitish Kumar’s party has brought up the name only now, the BJP’s bid to keep the Rajput name in the public eye began in earnest almost immediately after the actor’s death. Pro-BJP social media pages and influencers joined in and the actor’s emotion-laden videos circulated on social media every other day. Then the campaign gradually became linked to the pride of Bihari.
After Sushant’s father, KK Singh, filed a First Information Report (FIR) at a police station in Patna, the Director General of Police, Gupteshwar Pandey, sent a team to Mumbai instead of going through the motions and delivering the case to the Mumbai police. A dispute ensued between the police forces of the two states, in view of which the government of Bihar demanded an investigation by the IWC into the matter. The Center quickly approved the transfer of the case to the CBI without considering the merits of the case.
The CBI is currently investigating Sushant’s death while the Directorate of Enforcement is investigating the money laundering angle. Recently, the National Narcotics Control Office was also dispatched for a drug investigation in connection with the actor’s death. The three investigative agencies are controlled by the Center. With the BJP ruling both the Center and the state, the question is: whose is the BJP of Bihar seeking justice with the hashtag “Justice for Sushant Singh Rajput”.
The BJP believes that there is a wave of sympathy for Sushant Singh Rajput in Bihar and, by handing over the investigation to the CBI, voters can be made to believe that “justice will be served” and that they can be influenced.
But why is the BJP, which has ruled the state for 15 years in the past, so keen on using this particular card in elections? According to political analyst DM Diwakar, “Actually, it is a well thought out strategy of the BJP because they are pressing the issue. Emotional issues have always benefited the BJP. Right now, the government is in the dock over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic situation. The country’s GDP is in negative figures. Migrant workers who returned to Bihar cannot find work. Unemployment is at an all-time high. Half of Bihar is suffering severe flooding. But the government has no answer to these problems. That is why she longs for the subject of Sushant’s death. By doing so, the BJP wants to send the message to their voters in Bihar that they are the saviors of ‘Bihari pride.’
The way the BJP has appropriated the actor’s suicide for political gain, it is clear that the BJP top management is going to bring up the issue in their speeches in the run-up to the elections. It poses a double challenge to the opposition parties. First, they must get the public to shift their focus from Sushant to issues of unemployment, poverty, flooding, and the government’s mismanagement of the pandemic. Second, they must force the BJP to stop obsessing over the death of Sushant Rajput.
What will be the position of the opposition?
If the opposition had taken the lead on the actor’s suicide issue, it would have put the BJP on the defensive by now, experts believe. Although it was clear that the BJP-JD (U) combination was tactically picking up the death of the movie star as a possible instrument to steer the election towards an emotional issue, most opposition parties were unclear on how to respond to it. . By failing to take a principled position, it is believed, the opposition easily gave Nitish Kumar political space on this matter.
As a result, opposition leaders were seen neither in support of nor in opposition to the way his death was treated. Shortly after his death, Tejashwi Yadav was one of the first political leaders to meet with Sushant’s family and secure justice for them. But since the CBI received the investigation, the opposition has dropped the matter.
A senior leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Ramchandra Purve said The wire“Our opposition leader, Tejashwi Yadav, had demanded a CBI investigation into Sushant’s death from the start. In fact, he even demanded to name the film city in Rajgir, which is still under construction, after Sushant Singh Rajput. We have all our condolences and condolences to the Sushant Singh family. We also respect the sentiments of the people of Bihar, but want to focus on the problems of unemployment, poverty, floods, and government mismanagement during the pandemic. CM Nitish Kumar has been fully exposed on the issue of migrant workers and eventually gave in to Tejashwi Yadav’s demand to allow them to return to Bihar. We will compete in elections on these issues ”.
Congressional leader Kokab Qadri has criticized the BJP for politicizing the actor’s suicide. Talking to The wireHe said, “Sushant Singh Rajput was the pride of Bihar. We deeply sympathize with his family. But the way the BJP is turning it into a political issue is very disappointing. “
“Sushant’s death is now being investigated by the CBI. In such a situation, the justice process will be hampered if the BJP politicizes the issue. The truth of the matter is that the BJP wants to divert attention from hot topics like unemployment, poverty, the coronavirus pandemic, and others. That is why they are looking at the issue of the death of Sushant Rajput. But we will forcefully raise issues like unemployment and poverty, “said Qadri.
The leaders of both opposition parties have agreed that it is wrong to give a political tinge to the death of the actor. Therefore, they were silent on the matter after the investigation was handed over to the CBI.
Kokab Qadri does not think the BJP can woo voters on the issue. “The public is no longer so naive to vote on emotional issues. You can see that there are no jobs. They are traumatized by the coronavirus. They will not be influenced by the BJP, ”he says.
DM Diwakar also believes that raising crucial issues such as unemployment, poverty and floods by opposition parties, especially Tejahswi Yadav, is the right step.
“It’s good that Tejashwi is raising urgent issues,” he says. “But the efforts that are currently being made are insufficient. The opposition must raise the issues more emphatically and spread awareness among the public. If they emphasize these issues, it will definitely benefit them. “
Looking at the Rajput vote bank
Five percent of the voters in Bihar belong to the Rajput community. Furthermore, in many pockets they exert a disproportionate influence on the electorate. There is some resentment towards the BJP among the upper castes of the state. This is why the BJP constantly alludes to RJD’s 15-year tenure under Lalu Prasad Yadav as a ‘raj of the jungle’ to polarize the upper castes.
One of the reasons why the BJP has made Sushant Singh the poster child for the election campaign is to appease Rajput voters. Second, it is not only the Rajput community that associates the Sushant case with the pride of Bihari. Indeed, there could be a wave of emotion among other Bihar communities about demanding justice for the late actor. The BJP is hoping to attract not only Rajput voters, but other communities as well.
Umesh Kumar Ray is a freelance journalist.
Translated from the Hindi by Naushin Rehman.
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