BJP’s Kangana Dilemma: Damned If They Act, Damned If They Don’t

Kangana Ranaut has stirred the hornet’s nest. And angry hornets are out in their multitude, stinging her left and right. But give it to the lady, stings don’t bother her much. Another interview tomorrow, she will be poking another nest, mouthing something sillier than her previous utterance. If it’s not about farmers, Muslims or history, it will be, well, it can be any topic.

The point, however, is not her outrageous remarks – if you are familiar with the knowledge emanating from the WhatsApp University, you know where it’s coming from – but the apparent helplessness of the BJP’s leadership to deal with her sternly. Her views on farmers has put the party’s chances in the Haryana assembly elections in jeopardy. There are ripples of anger in the farmers’ community in Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states as well. She has angered the Sikh community too. Her nasty comments on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has helped him garner positive attention. She also has a point to make on the touchy issue of the caste census.

So, what is going on? Is the party worried about the fallout of any action to silence her? Or, is it the troubled dynamics between the BJP and its mother organisation, the RSS, at play? The current leadership of the BJP places particular high value on rabble-rousers. The more venomous and intemperate they are in their public utterances, the more appreciated they are. Kangana has been doing the job for sometime openly, and it was no surprise that she was rewarded with the ticket from Mandi. We don’t know of any other quality in her that merits her a Lok Sabha seat. However, given the changed equations in the Indian polity after the general elections of 2024, she is more of a liability than an asset.

There would be repercussions if she is forced to go silent. She might turn against the leadership, spewing bad words against it. The Opposition would take no time to latch on to them nail the former. The situation could be weaponised by disgruntled elements within the BJP not on agreeable terms with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his trouble-shooter Amit Shah. Kangana, a political green horn, was after all their choice. Their silence on her so far explains it to some degree.

It is not clear what transpired between her and BJP president JP Nadda during the recent meeting, but the fact remains that she has not stopped her rants. Is she being used to distract attention from the from the internal troubles confronting the leadership? This has been a favourite ploy of the party to avoid problematic situations from the beginning. The problem is in this case nothing is clear. Even the sycophantic media is confused. They don’t know whether to attack Kangana or defend her.

The bigger picture is she is voicing the core beliefs of the RSS. Her views on caste census and Hindutva are in alignment with those of the latter. The BJP cannot win elections if it comes openly in support. If it doesn’t, it would alienate its loyal support base. It’s a Catch-22 situation for the party, more specifically for the leadership with shrinking appeal.

Kangana may have become a joke, but she is surely in the midst of too many political calculations. No surprise, she is enjoying it. Hornet’s, after all, have their uses.

(By arrangements with Perspective Bytes)