Congress posters depicting party leaders' caste in Patna

Patna: At a time when vikas or development of the country should be the main poll plank for political parties ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress still seems interested in making ‘caste’ a crucial aspect of their political discourse. In a blatant case of ‘appeasement tactic’, the Congress party has put up posters in Patna in which they have mentioned the caste of their leaders.

In the controversial posters, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been labelled a “Brahmin”, while several of the leaders have their castes such as “Dalits”, “Bhumihar” and “Rajputs” printed alongside their photographs. As per reports, most of the leaders seen in the poster are newly-appointed members of Bihar Congress.

Increasingly, it appears that it in a bid to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party’s strong right-wing image, the Congress has resorted to appealing to the voters through a “soft-Hindutva” approach. On Monday, during his visit to his Lok Sabha constituency Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, posters depicting him as “Shiv Bhakt” were put up across the town. In fact, Gandhi was also greeted by Kanwariyas who even gifted him a memento of Lord Shiva.

Patna (Bihar): Caste of Congress Netas mentioned on posters. Rahul Gandhi has been labelled as Brahmin in one of the posters.



Shyam and @scribe_prashant share details with @HeenaGambhir pic.twitter.com/8DKvbx3gdl — TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) September 26, 2018

Posters proclaiming Gandhi as a “Shiv Bhakt” were also put up in Bhopal when the Congress President visited Madhya Pradesh during a recent trip. Notably, Congress leader Kamal Nath has announced that if the party comes to power in Madhya Pradesh in the upcoming Assembly elections, it would construct the ‘Ram Van Gaman Path’ that would trace the mythical route taken by Lord Rama during his exile in the forests.

Meanwhile, reacting to the Congress party’s posters in Patna, the Bharatiya Janata Party has slammed the opposition party for playing ‘divisive’ politics ahead of the general elections next year.