Rajasthan saffronised: BJP fielded 4 Hindu priests in assembly polls, all are now MLAs

The BJP, which courted voters with a Hindutva platform and loudly raised concerns about alleged minority appeasement, fielded four Hindu priests, who were elected to the Rajasthan Assembly this election. Of the four former priests elected to parliament, Baba Balaknath, the Alwar MP who won the fiercely contested Tijara seat, has a history of stirring up controversy with his statements, and Balmukund Acharya, the Hawa Mahal MP, gained notoriety for his campaign against the “demolition” of local temples. On Monday, a video appeared online where Balmukund, fresh from his victory, is purportedly giving directions to an official on the phone to remove roadside shops selling non-vegetarian food at the Chandi Ki Taksal area in his constituency. “Can non-veg be sold in the open on the road? Answer in yes or no. Are you endorsing them? “Remove the roadside shops selling non-vegetarian at Chandi Ki Taksal area. Check their licences. I will take a report from you in the evening. Do I have to come to you to collect the report or you will come?” he said. “The street vendors making non-veg seen on roadsides should not be seen from immediate effect. I will take a report from you in the evening,” he is heard saying on the phone. Balmukund defeated Congress’ R R Tiwari by a narrow margin of 914 votes in the Hawa Mahal constituency which has a sizeable Muslim electorate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had done a road show in the constituency during the campaigning. The seer, during his campaign, had claimed that scores of temples in the Hawa Mahal area were demolished as a part of a conspiracy and had assured the people that if voted to power, these would be rebuilt. Otaram Dewasi, mahant of Mundara Mata Temple, was the first minister for gopalan (cow husbandry) in the previous BJP government led by Vasundhara Raje but lost in the 2018 elections. He is now elected from Sirohi. The other three priests are new to the Assembly. Balaknath, 39, who belongs to the same Nath sect that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath represents, has emerged as a strong leader after his victory in Tijara, a seat the BJP had won only once between the first election in 1951 and 2018. The Election Commission had served a notice to Balaknath over his statement where he compared the assembly elections to an India-Pakistan match, though he later clarified that he was encouraging people to turn out in maximum numbers to increase the voting percentage. The Muslims here are being dominated. There are Muslims of extremist mindset here. They have dominated everyone here… “They are the same extremists who are dominating the whole Muslim community and going against their will. The situation today in Tijara is bad because of them. “Their thought process is anti-national and is aimed at stopping the country’s development… the people of Tijara will answer them, Balaknath had told (with inputs from PTI)