BJP’s operation desert storm: A new yogi rises in the West

Jaipur: He wears saffron robes, heads the “secular” Mastnath Mutt of Rohtak in Haryana as its eighth Mahant, and is an MP from Alwar. Calling him a mirror-image of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adiytanath may not be completely wrong, as even geographically, he keeps the BJP flag aflutter in the west, complimenting Yogi’s presence on the other side of the country.

Small wonder that he is called the Yogi of Rajasthan!

Baba Balaknath, the saffron sant, is the mutt head handpicked by the BJP to take on Imran Khan of the Congress in the Meo Muslim-dominated Tijara Assembly constituency, an area sandwiched between Haryana and Rajasthan in the Mewat region.

Balaknath has begun proving himself to the leadership, with his provocative and even absurd utterances. In a viral video, he recently equated his contest against Imran Khan with an India-Pakistan cricket match.

He said: “The fight is not just for victory. It is also a battle for voting percentage. These tribes have come together and we need to thwart their plan by defeating them in terms of voting percentage, so that they do not conspire to unite in the future and defeat the Sanatan Dharma.” He did not mention which tribe was he talking about, but everybody knows, say poll observers.

The calmness in the region is deceptive as the divide among the communities is more brazen now, say political observers. The presence, or one may say, hand-holding of Adityanath, has only been incendiary. Adityanath was in Tijara for Balaknath’s nomination and later at a rally. The election posters all around Tijara, too, show the smiling Yogi and Balaknath together.

‘Big brother’

The closeness between the two, their saffron robes and a carefully cultivated image of a “selfless yogic life coupled with social work” and the Hindutva plank, all these amalgamate to point towards a larger role for the Mahant in the region. There is even speculation that the “Yogi of Rajasthan” may be a contender for the chief minister’s post. Balaknath, however, negates the rumours. “There is no such talk. I have been given a responsibility and I would perform it to the best of my ability. Whatever the party says, I follow accordingly,” Balaknath told DH over the phone.

On his comparison with Yogi Adityanath and his constant support, he said: “He is like a big brother to me.”

They may not be two peas in a pod, yet. As political analyst based in Alwar, Devendra Bharadwaj, said, “Balaknath is perhaps not as aggressive as Yogi Adityanath yet. But sometimes he does say something for sensationalism and, of course, to polarise the already polarised battlefield.”

In fact, Balaknath seems so much in awe of Yogi that he has held over 56 rallies on bulldozers, as a symbol of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s bulldozer action against criminals to demolish illegal encroachments.

Hawala charges

There are also allegations about his sending Rs 52 crore black money through hawala to Canada to build an Ashram there and buy 35 acres of land for cannabis plantation. Balaknath refuted these allegations, saying Congress just wanted to divert attention from its misgovernance, corruption and minority appeasement. He has talked about how the Congress government has always discriminated against Hindus. He has urged voters to find land for building temples and funeral sites. He has also talked about non-functional schools in Hindu-dominated villages and the opposite in minority-dominated ones.

Divisive politicking

The Congress, too, worked on a strategy to dilute this saffron essence. It literally snatched the BSP candidate, Imran Khan, and fielded him against the mahant. An engineer and affluent builder, the new Congress candidate has a reputation of being “benevolent”.

The fielding of the candidates from two communities is like a trigger for political fireworks.The region has already witnessed clashes over incidents of cow smuggling by Muslims and cow vigilantism by Hindus over the last few years. Even the recent communal tension in Haryana’s Nuh permeated to the parts of Alwar district and their rhetoric has only added another layer of bitterness to the already discordant environment.

Imran Khan’s entry into the fray only made Balaknath assume a vitriolic tone. He has been quick to accuse Imran of being a “Taliban”, alluding to being ultra-conservative.

Early days

Born in Koharana village in Behrod tehsil, part of Alwar district earlier, Balaknath is from a Yadav family. He grew up under the mentorship of Baba Chand Nath Yogi in Rohtak, Haryana. Chand Nath, who was a MLA from Behrod and later MP from Alwar, may have stirred Balaknath’s interest in politics.

Although Balaknath is vice-chancellor of Baba Mastnath University, he has just cleared the school, according to his affidavit. But the Mutt has several educational institutes running in Rajasthan and Haryana.

Sources say Balaknath wanted a ticket from his birthplace, Behrod, but the BJP has, instead, given him the difficult seat of Tijara, an area sandwiched between Haryana and Rajasthan in the Mewat region.

Votebank

The constituency has a total of 2.61 lakh voters, of which one lakh voters are from the Meo Muslim community. The Dalits comprise about 55,000 and Yadavs, around 40,000, a community Balaknath is banking on. There are other communities of Sikh, which number around 15,000, as well as Sainis and Vaishyas, who might go any way.

The Sikhs, too, are said to be angry after BJP leader Sandeep Daima spoke about uprooting mosques and gurdwaras that have mushroomed and become “open sores” in Tijara. Although the BJP has expelled Daima, Sikhs are not able to forgot about the hate remark..  

Meo Muslims, on the other hand, prefer to vote as a block, and are unlikely to vote for Balaknath after his constant harping that poverty and backwardness in the region was  because of “them.” 

“Meo Muslims, who are converts to Islam, number about 20 lakh across Haryana’s Mewat region and in Rajasthan’s Alwar and Bharatpur region. But communal tension, cow vigilantism and consequent attack on their livelihood of minorities have increased over the years. Most of the crimes like cow smuggling, cyber crimes, and loot are supposed to be committed by one specific community, hence they have become anti-BJP and anti-Modi. It is highly unlikely they would vote for Balaknath,” says Devendra.

Spoiler alert

But there is a spoiler in the form of the Azad Samaj Party. Its candidate, Udmiram Poswal, who also has the support of  Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, may fracture the votes for both the BJP and the Congress.

Gujjars, who are OBCs, and the Dalits, who number about 17,000,  are not satisfied with the BSP as the winning MLAs have crossed over to the Congress twice after they won. Dalits are now looking at the more energetic ASP’s Ambedkarite activist Chandrashekhar Azad. 

Another political analyst, who did not wish to be named, said: “There is 38% Meo Muslim vote and 62% Hindu votes. The trend has been that if the Muslim votes get divided between parties, the Congress loses. And if Hindu votes get divided, then BJP faces loss. If the Dalits and Gujjar votes go to Udmiram, then the Hindu votes get split further and it would spell trouble for Balaknath.”

But there are many who root for Balaknath for the top post as they believe the state would develop just like Uttar Pradesh under Yogi.

Both Mahants Yogi Adityanath and Balaknath are followers of the Nath sect. The Nath sect  had a famous disciple king, Bharthari, ruler of Ujjain, who gave up his kingdom to become the disciple of Guru Gorakhnath, the saint of Nath Sampradya. King Bharthari is famous in Alwar and an annual fair is held in his name.

Now the wheels seem to have turned around. Mahants are giving up their spiritual life to pursue the razzmatazz of political life.