Polls apart

When politics is a choice between different fears, voters stop thinking freely

- BY JAWAHAR SIRCAR

West Bengal's election is not going to be a normal one—institutions have become part of the contest. So, voters are not just choosing a government, they are thinking about their own safety. To understand what is happening, it is important to see why Bengal is not just another state for the BJP. Bengal's society underwent sociocultural reforms before the rest of modern India, breaking from religious orthodoxy through a long struggle led by the upper castes against obscurantism. A strong regional identity emerged from this—secular and casteless and now integral to everyday life. Religion is present, but it does not dominate politics. Durga Puja, for example, is more a social and cultural event than a religious one. Language and culture matter more than caste.

Because of this, the BJP's politics faces a certain resistance in Bengal.

Many people, especially the middle class, are wary of the Hindi-Hindu cultural uniformity it seeks to impose, not hostile to Hindi or Hinduism per se.