The Opposition’s INDIA -Alliance was set to give the BJP-led NDA the toughest fight in years when Udhayanidhi Stalin walked into a self-laid trap. At stake are the upcoming assembly elections in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and the 2024 “oust-Modi” general elections. Udhayanidhi Stalin compounded his “crime” when he doubled down with a “Bring it on” on ‘X’.

It will take a psychologist to unravel why Udhayanidhi Stalin “lost it”. But he knew what he was getting into. The comments were not off the cuff. Udhayanidhi read them out from a written note. Did somebody write it for him or were the “eradicate like malaria, Covid and corona” his own creative juices flowing?

Several police complaints have been lodged against Stalin’s son including in Delhi. But the Modi government would rather the issue remained on the burner. Asking the Supreme Court to take cognizance and go suomoto is what it has settled for. You see, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hemmed in by the G20 Summit and if this issue explodes it wouldn’t be easy to contain.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s G20 plans and aspirations will go up in smoke. Already, certain international media are talking of how “Manipur” has made it impossible for Modi to "Make India Great" ever. Street demonstrations and disturbances would add to Modi’s overflowing cup of woes.

So, if Udhayanidhi Stalin has made things go awry for INDIA, he has also made it difficult for the BJP-led NDA. That said, certain INDIA constituents would rather this hadn’t happened. The Trinamool Congress of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for one. Caught totally unawares, Mamata is not happy with Udhayanidhi Stalin.

Then, there is the Shiv Sena UBT. Maharashtra could any day break out in anti-Dravidian rashes. The Aam Aadmi Party of Arvind Kejriwal is another outfit which is not happy with Udhayanidhi Stalin’s antics. Add to AAP Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party. All these outfits depend on Sanatani votes in varying degrees. And not every Hindu caste is critical of Sanatana Dharma.

The ones who did not mind Udhayanidhi Stalin going off the handle included Lalu Prasad Yadav, his son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashvi Yadav and leaders of the left parties including Brinda Karat of the CPM plus CPI leader D Raja. The left parties would like Sanatana Dharma undergo reforms and they have their own longstanding views on religion per se.

That being said, several INDIA parties have distanced themselves from Udhayanidhi’s “offending” remarks. The one glaring miss is the Congress. The anti-Sanatana Dharma comments of Udhayanidhi Stalin are covered by his constitutional right to freedom of expression, spelled out Congress general secretary in-charge of ‘Organization’ KC Venugopal. He added that the Congress believed in ‘Sarva Dharma Sambhava’ and that Udhayanidhi Stalin has his right to freedom of expression like everybody else.

That did not stop the BJP from accusing the Congress of being anti-Hindu through and through. The BJP wants Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to come clean on his stand on Sanatana Dharma. If not Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi, one or the other Gandhi should answer. Juxtaposing Sanatana Dharma with other religions is priceless tactic to drive home the BJP’s political point of view. By remaining silent, Rahul Gandhi isn’t helping the Congress, which even otherwise is seen as suffering from “Muslim affinity”.

That said, MK Stalin and Udhayanidhi Stalin, as also the DMK, haven’t lost much. In fact, Udhayanidhi’s call to eradicate Sanatana Dharma strikes a chord with the ‘Dravidian’ electorate of Tamil Nadu, which happens to be the staple vote-bank of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Udhayanidhi’s anti-Sanatana Dharma comments are worth their weight in gold for the DMK with the Congress benefitting by way of association.

Up north, however, Sanatana Dharma is not weighed down by Dravidian sentiments. Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comments calling for the “annihilation of the Hindu way of life” have set the cat among the pigeons. The whole thing about Sanatana Dharma comes to boil quicker in areas north India than in areas south India. According to certain polls, 49 percent Hindus voted for the BJP in the 2019 general elections and these Hindus were beginning to desert the BJP. Today, after Udhayanidhi’s anti-Hindu comments, the electoral fortunes of the BJP could revive afresh.

Udhayanidhi Stalin has triggered a communally-charged political row by equating 'Sanatana Dharma’ with "mosquitoes, Dengue, Malaria, fever and Corona". Whatever got into Udhayanidhi’s head, it wasn't sanity. The Sanatana Dharma is defined as “eternal” religion, something which will always be relevant. And then to call for its “annihilation” is committing political suicide. By the way Udayanidhi Stalin's mother Durga is a devout Sanatani Hindu while he himself is married to a Christian.

In his political bailiwick, the DMK politician spoke with his head in the right place, but to think that it wouldn’t affect the fortunes of north-based political parties, who are also in INDIA, doesn’t make sense at all. For all we know, the Congress has miscalculated. True, the Congress and the DMK have an electoral alliance in Tamil Nadu, but Rahul Gandhi is aiming to be INDIA’s “PM face“, and he should be looking at the big picture. BR Ambedkar had made a call for the annihilation of castes, Udhayanidhi Stalin is asking for the annihilation of a religion. What Ambedkar did was move from one religion to another. (IPA Service)