BJP and Congress are piggybacking on popular babas

Kamal Nath was first among politicians to court a baba this election season by calling Dhirendra Krishna Shastri to Chhindwara to grace a newly built Hanuman temple.

Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of the Bageshwar Dham fame is now courted by the leading political actors of Madhya Pradesh. The young spiritual guru is arguably the most sought-after Hindu ‘katha vachak (story teller)’ in several states in North India. His cut-outs dot the skylines in several cities, from Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to Haryana, with politicians trying to gain from his following.

Shastri is topping the list of ‘katha vachaks’ who claim to have power to offer instant solutions to the people’s problems. Pradeep Mishra of Sehore fame is competing with Shastri in this space, and so is Pandokhar Sarkar of Datia (Gursharan Sharma). By handing out prescriptions, Shastri and Sharma provide solutions to the problems people face. Ravi Shankar of the Rawatpura Sarkar Dham in Bundelkhand holds sway in the ravines of Bhind. All these babas claim divinity, and have ashrams across Madhya Pradesh.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath was first among politicians to court a baba this election season by calling Shastri to Chhindwara to grace a newly built Hanuman temple. Chhindwara is an important assembly constituency because in 2019 it was the only Lok Sabha constituency that ducked the Narendra Modi wave in Madhya Pradesh to elect Nakul Nath, Kamal Nath’s son.

Now, Kamal Nath is also courting Pradip Mishra.

In Madhya Pradesh, the political battle is between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, and this explains the grand old party’s nonchalance towards pursuing Hindutva politics, even if it meant upsetting the minorities. Muslim voters constitute less than seven per cent in the state.

Gandhi Maidan at Patna, in Bihar was filled to capacity during Shastri’s five-day long ‘darbar’ from May 13 to 17, and BJP leaders made a beeline to meet him. Similar has been the turnout, including that of politicians, for his ‘darbars’ held in western Uttar Pradesh. Shastri unabashedly talks of a Hindu Rashtra, and his views align with the BJP’s brand of politics where religion and religious sentiments is mixed with nationalist and political discourse. However, Shastri, like his peers, has built an independent following which is not identified with any particular political party.

Indore-based Pankaj Kshirsagar, who was an OSD to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, told this author that the ever-expanding sway of ‘katha-vachaks’ to Bhaiyyu Maharaj, who was a political adviser to several leaders cutting across the party lines, and came to national prominence when he played an instrumental role in breaking Anna Hazare’s fast-unto-death protest at the Ramlila Ground, in Delhi, in 2011. Kshirsagar argued that Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have been fertile grounds for such babas who hold followings among the people to pull political punches during elections.

Also, the likes of Shastri offer captive audiences which otherwise are tough to mobilise for the political parties. Shastri pulls in lakhs of people during his ‘darbars’. Such audiences entice the leading political actors to court the heads of these ‘Dhams’.

That said, there still are political leaders who hold fort on their own merit. Govind Singh, Madhya Pradesh’s Leader of Opposition, has been winning from Lahar, in Bhind, since 1990 despite the BJP organising ‘katha-vachaks’ against him.

While Kamal Nath might be going overboard to court the babas, it is the BJP which has credited from the several dhams. However, now the Congress, realising the benefits of the politics of Hindutva in Madhya Pradesh, is seeking to blunt the BJP’s mainstay in electoral politics.

By neutralising the BJP’s key electoral plank, the Congress is seeking to wrestle the ruling dispensation in Madhya Pradesh on issues covered in the broader canvas of the party’s guarantee-based assurances.

(Manish Anand is a Delhi-based journalist.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.