Congress's 'Hindutva' issues did not get them any electoral benefit: CPI(M)

The Congress' 'Hindutva platform' failed to get them electoral benefits and the party should have got a more decisive victory in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh given the discontent against the BJP and the anti-incumbency factor, the CPI(M) said Thursday.

People had voted for Congress because they were punishing the BJP governments for their failure to address farmers' problems, create employment and protect livelihoods, it said.

The party said given the depth of the popular discontent against the BJP and the anti-incumbency factor, the Congress should have been able to get a more decisive majority in both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

"One aspect is that in both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the Congress tried to borrow some issues from the Hindutva platform. However, raising such demands did not get them any electoral benefits. Because, people attracted to the Hindutva platform always prefer the original rather than a copycat one", the party said in an editorial of the forthcoming edition of CPI(M)'s mouthpiece 'People's Democracy'.

The Congress emerged victorious in assembly polls held recently in three politically crucial states in the Hindi heartland, considered BJP bastions.

It added that though there was an erosion of the BJP vote share in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh compared to the previous assembly election in 2013, the saffron party got a substantial vote share -- 41 per cent in MP and 38.8 per cent in Rajasthan.

The editorial cautioned the new Congress state governments against the "communal agenda" of the BJP-RSS.

"This makes it incumbent on the newly formed governments to immediately address the problems of agrarian distress, employment generation and provision of social welfare schemes. They cannot afford to take a soft attitude to communal activities and must crack down on cow vigilantism and mob lynching", the editorial added.

The CPI(M) mouthpiece also said widespread farmers' distress, the adverse effects of demonetisation, the failure to provide jobs, corruption and misrule have all taken a toll on the BJP.

"Sensing this popular discontent, the BJP-RSS combine had fallen back on its communal Hindutva agenda to try and create polarisation and rally support," it alleged.

The CPI(M) had earlier slammed the grand old party of adopting ' soft Hindutva' issue to woo voters in the Hindi heartland states.