Priyanka Gandhi's aggressive 'Hindutva' turn rattles BJP in Uttar Pradesh

A barefoot Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra undertook a five-kilometre 'maun parikrama' (going around silently) of the famous Kamadgiri Temple in the border town of Chitrakoot, and party leaders accompanied her chanting 'Jai Shri Ram'. Had it not been for the Congress flags, a casual onlooker could very well have taken it to be a BJP event.

The decision to undertake 'parikrama' of the Kamadgiri Temple appeared to be a well-planned strategy as the Temple was revered as the holy embodiment of Lord Rama, who, according to the Hindu mythology, had spent more than 11 years of his 14-year banishment with Sita and brother Laxman at Chitrakoot.

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In fact, Lord Rama was also known as Kamtanath, which literally meant someone, who fulfilled the wishes of the people.

Priyanka visited Chitrakoot on Wednesday and addressed a meeting of women there.

Earlier also, while being on a visit during the 'Navratri' (nine-day long festival during which Goddess Durga is worshipped) to Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of prime minister Narendra Modi, Priyanka had addressed a public meeting sporting 'tripundra' (Saivite tilaka on the forehead) and told the crowd that she was on 'fast'. ''Aaj Navratra ka chautha din hai aur mera vrat hai,'' (today is the fourth day of Navratri and I am fasting), she had said.

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The Congress leader had also begun her speech with two 'slokas' (couplets of Sanskrit verses) which were chanted especially during the 'Navratri' festival to please goddess Durga and made the people chant 'Jai Mata Di'.

During her visit to Varanasi Priyanka had also visited the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple and paid obeisance there besides offering worship at the 'Kushmanda Temple'.

Political analysts say that Priyanka appears to have decided to intensify her temple runs to counter the BJP in the forthcoming UP assembly polls.

Also Read: UP polls: Priyanka Gandhi likens BJP to 'kauravas', asks women to recognise their might

''She has signalled that she is not averse to the chanting of Jai Shriram by party workers.....she has made it a point to visit important Hindu religious places to launch her party's election campaign.....whether it helps the Congress in the assembly poll remains to be seen but it will certainly blunt BJP's attack on the grand old party,'' said a Lucknow based political analyst.

The Congress leader's aggressive 'Hindutva' appears to have rattled the BJP, which has, of late, indicated that it will prefer to target the Samajwadi Party (SP) rather than Congress in its election rallies.

While the saffron party leaders here sought to make light of Priyanka's turn to 'Hindutva', the state Congress leaders welcomed the change of strategy saying that it would help the party get rid of the 'pro-Muslim' tag. ''Now BJP as well as the saffron outfits will find it hard to attack Priyanka,'' said a senior UP Congress leader here.

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