In the lead-up to the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have sharpened their rhetoric, accusing the Congress party of aligning with Pakistan’s interests by expressing support for the potential reinstatement of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. The provision, which granted special autonomy to the region, was abrogated in August 2019. This move, a key achievement for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been celebrated by its supporters as a step towards national integration and security.
During a series of campaign rallies, Modi framed the Congress’s stance on Article 370 as antithetical to national interests, challenging the party to publicly declare their intention to reinstate it if they come to power. This framing seeks to portray the BJP as a defender of India’s sovereignty and paint the opposition as inconsistent with national security priorities. Shah extended this narrative, explicitly stating that both Pakistan’s leaders and the Congress share a similar agenda concerning Article 370, a stance he suggests undermines India’s unity and serves as a divisive political tool.
The Pakistan angle became more pronounced after Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif made statements opposing the abrogation of Article 370, citing it as a factor in ongoing tensions with India. Shah utilized this opportunity to draw parallels between the Congress and Pakistan’s leadership, intensifying the BJP’s nationalist appeal in Maharashtra. This comparison aims to cast the opposition in a negative light, suggesting that any calls for Article 370’s restoration are tantamount to echoing a hostile neighbor’s interests, a narrative expected to resonate strongly with BJP’s voter base.
Analysts note that the BJP’s focus on Article 370 reflects a strategic pivot to national issues in a regional election, an approach they hope will consolidate their vote share among nationalist and security-conscious demographics. Modi and Shah’s remarks mark an intensification of the BJP’s broader campaign strategy, emphasizing the choice between a “unified India” under BJP’s leadership and a “compromised” national security stance under Congress. This tactic is a continuation of BJP’s broader narrative in state elections, where the focus on national integrity often supersedes local governance issues to rally core voters.
The Congress party, in response, has argued that these accusations are baseless and distract from pressing issues within Maharashtra, such as economic development and social welfare. They accuse the BJP of resorting to divisive rhetoric to shift attention from local governance concerns. This discourse is likely to shape the tone of the elections, with debates centered more on ideological stances than on regional administrative matters.
For a deeper look into the election dynamics and the BJP’s national security narrative in Maharashtra