Hijab controversy an advantage for BJP, could help party ahead of Karnataka Assembly elections: Experts

The High Court order on Hijab can help the ruling BJP consolidate its vote base ahead of the Assembly elections next year as Congress has either ignored the issue or is pushed to the backfoot, pundits say.

While the saffron party can claim a moral and political victory as the High Court upheld the state government's order that students should stick to uniforms, religious differences may continue to fester in college campuses.

How the Congress will respond to the controversy will be key, according to experts.

Also Read | Karnataka High Court erred by sanctifying uniforms instead of education in hijab verdict, says expert

Writer and activist K Phaniraj said the opposition Congress chose to tread carefully and decided against making it a political issue.

"For BJP, the stance of Congress was crucial," he observed.

"The whole issue has turned out to be a sort of victory for hardcore elements in the BJP," he said, anticipating that it could push the state government's policies more towards the right.

Some believe that the row would not have flared up if B S Yediyurappa — who was not a brash hardliner — was in office.

Also Read | Muslim leaders call for Karnataka bandh over hijab row

Phaniraj said Congress does not have a strategy to reach out to people on such issues.

A Narayana, associate professor, Azim Premji University, said that by the time the High Court issued an order, BJP had already gained political capital out of the controversy. "

The judgement, in that sense, only reinforced gains made by the BJP," he said.

A major concern following the judgement is what bearing it will have on campuses in terms of relationship between students from various communities and student-teacher relationships.

College atmosphere will remain a little volatile in certain pockets, Narayana added.

Though the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) gained some political traction due to the controversy, it is not yet clear how it will benefit come elections next year, said a political commentator requesting anonymity.

"With Udupi, where the issue surfaced, the row and the subsequent judgement have gone against SDPI," he added.

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