New Delhi: A day ahead of polling in the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made an open appeal for votes invoking religion on Thursday (April 18) through its X (formerly Twitter) handle, in which it has referred to the “power” of one vote to the saffron party alongside an image of the idol of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
The model code of conduct expressly bars appeals “to caste or communal feelings for securing votes”.
Elections in India are regulated under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the use of religion to seek votes constitutes “corrupt practices” under Section 123 (3) of the Act, which deals with references to appeals on the ground of religion.
The Wire has reported on the extensive use of religion and allusions to the Ram Temple by the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections that have raised questions about the role of the Election Commission.
The tweet also comes during the 48-hour silence period under Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, during which candidates and parties are required to maintain silence and not spread campaign messages in constituencies going to the polls.
On Thursday, in a tweet, the BJP’s official handle wrote a caption that said “the power of one vote” alongside a picture of the idol of Lord Ram at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya during the “surya tilak” ceremony conducted on Ram Navami on Wednesday.
The picture shows the “surya tilak” on the idol and states: “Them: Your one vote to BJP will not make a difference”.
“The difference” then points to the “surya tilak” on the idol.
The power of your ’𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞’! pic.twitter.com/jRd6BYcIK0
Advertisement— BJP (@BJP4India) April 18, 2024
According to a press release by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the “surya tilak” project was conducted by a team of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous body under the Department of science and Technology.
“Under the surya tilak project, sunlight was brought on the forehead of Sri Ram Lalla at 12 noon on the occasion of Sri Ram Navami in the Chaitra month. IIA team carried out the calculation of the sun position, design and optimisation of the optical system, and performed the integration & alignment at the site,” the release said.
In 2022, at least nearly 200 scientists had written an open letter protesting against the involvement of scientists in the project.
The tweet comes a day after the party’s Telangana unit tweeted a video in which it used Pepe the frog – generally used by White supremacists in the US – in an apparent reference to Muslims in a video showing the “saga of the Ayodhya Ram Temple.”
A Battle of Billions of Hindus since time immemorial.
A story of Sacrifice, Valor, Worship & Victory.
The Saga of Ayodhya Ram Mandir.#RamNavami #JaiShriRam pic.twitter.com/VPNMLc7mPlAdvertisement— BJP Telangana (@BJP4Telangana) April 16, 2024
The video was tweeted with the caption: “A Battle of Billions of Hindus since time immemorial. A story of Sacrifice, Valor, Worship & Victory. The Saga of Ayodhya Ram Mandir.”
The video shows Pepe the frog crying, followed by images of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, riots, and ultimately the Supreme Court order in 2019 that paved the way for the construction of the temple that was inaugurated with a Pran Prathishtha ceremony by Modi in January.
The Wire has earlier reported on the use of the cartoon by the alt-right in India, which appropriated the symbols of the Western alt-right and edited them to suit the Indian context.
The Wire has written to the Election Commission for a response on the usage of religion and the video in campaigning, but is yet to receive a response.
In an advisory on March 1, the Election Commission asked all political parties to maintain decorum and utmost restraint in public campaigning and raise the level of election campaigning to “issue”- based debate.
The advisory stated that in accordance with the model code of conduct, no appeal shall be made on the basis of the caste or communal feelings of electors.
“No activity, which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes/communities/religious/linguistic groups, shall be attempted,” it said.
It also stated that “no temples/mosques/churches/gurudwaras or any places of worship are to be used for election propaganda or electioneering”, adding that “references which ridicule the relations between devotee and deity or suggestions of divine censure shall not be made.”
The advisory “acknowledged the evolving landscape of information technology and social media platforms has blurred the lines between pre-MCC and the 48-hour silence period, leading to persistent circulation of content across multiple phases of campaigning and even unrelated elections.”
In a letter dated March 15, 2019, the Election Commission had written to all national and state parties “to instruct and brief their leaders and campaigners to ensure that they observe the silence period on all forms of media as envisaged under Section 126 of the RP Act, 1951, and their leaders and cadres do not commit any act that may violate the spirit of Section 126.”
The letter also noted that in a multi-phased election, the silence period may be on in certain sections, while campaigning may be underway in others.
“In a multi-phased election, the silence period of last 48 hours may be on in certain constituencies while campaign is ongoing in other constituencies. In such event, there should not be any direct or indirect reference amounting to soliciting support for parties or candidates in the constituencies observing the silence period,” it said.
