Social activist Agnivesh said on Wednesday that the Arya Samaj organisation has decided to support the Congress in its effort to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. “Informal decisions have been taken to defeat the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Hindutva brand of cultural nationalism and communal politics of BJP, its political affiliate, in 2019 elections,” Agnivesh said in a statement released to the media.

Agnivesh is the spiritual head of the Arya Samaj movement. The activist claimed that the RSS has made “political and poisonous inroads” into the 140-year-old Arya Samaj institution. Therefore, the group has decided to back the Opposition party in the General Elections, he added.

“Our singular objective in this initiative is to defeat the hegemonistic, socially disruptive, politically sinister Hindutva politics spearheaded by Modi-Shah duo [Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah],” the statement added.

The statement claimed that the BJP will only win around 150 seats in the 2019 polls, far fewer than the 282 it won in 2014. It said the BJP’s allies may take the tally up to 200, but the Congress and its allies will win around 300 seats.

“Arya Samaj activists have already started working actively on the ground in support of the Congress Party in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh,” Agnivesh said. He said that the Arya Samaj will also work towards ensuring the defeat of BJP candidate Pragya Singh Thakur in Bhopal. Thakur is an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts.

The statement said that in Kerala, the Arya Samaj will support the Left Democratic Front. It endorsed the Left’s stand on the Sabarimala matter.

Here is the entire statement:

STATEMENT ON THE POLITICAL STAND OF ARYA SAMAJ

Swami Agnivesh

New Delhi

1st May, 2019

The Arya Samaj is firmly committed to religious reform and social regeneration. Maharshi Dayanand was a brilliant shaft of light glowing in the darkness of religious obscurantism, social decay and human oppression in the name of religion. This makes the Arya Samaj a vigilant spiritual movement proactively sensitive to attempts to corrupt the Indian society for attaining cheap political gains.

Given this background, the Arya Samaj has been watching, with increasing alarm and indignation, the existential crisis precipitated by the RSS that has made political and poisonous inroads into the 140 years old Arya Samaj Movement itself, true to its hegemonistic strategy to colonize and annex or destroy all institutions other than itself.

The Arya Samaj has, therefore, decided to join battle in the national and state elections currently underway. Informal decisions have been taken to defeat the RSS-Hindutva brand of cultural nationalism and communal politics of BJP, its political affiliate, in 2019 elections. Under the leadership of Swami Agnivesh (Spiritual Head of the Arya Samaj Movement). The Arya Samaj, with its nearly 1,00,000 social-spiritual activists, has forged an alliance with secular and pro-social-justice political parties in general and with the Congress party in particular. Our singular objective in this initiative is to defeat the hegemonistic, socially disruptive, politically sinister Hindutva politics spearheaded by Modi-Shah duo. We are committed to strengthening the liberal and egalitarian values-oriented socio-religious forces and political parties. We deem this as basic to the vision and spiritual dynamism of the Arya Samaj. The Samaj can take satisfaction that in the five phases of election accomplished so far [four phases have taken place so far], and in the remaining two phases [three phrases are remaining], Modi’s sinister onslaught has been contained and arrested.  It is our assessment that the BJP will shrink from its present 282 MPs in the Lok Sabha to a maximum of 150 in the present elections. With its NDA partners, the tally could go up to 200 MPs. The Congress party is poised to emerge as the largest among the opposition parties, and together with the UPA alliance partners, is likely to touch 300. 23rd May will dispel the dark clouds of the Modi-Shah tyranny. The Arya Samaj commits itself to a silent, nation-transforming revolution to enhance the life of millions of our farmers, unemployed youth, minorities, adivasis etc.

The challenge of the new government will be to consolidate the forces of social justice and secular democracy by implementing the promises set out in their election manifestos in letter and spirit in a time-bound manner. The NYAY scheme of the Congress Party, which the Arya Samaj endorses wholeheartedly, together with 150 days of MGNREGA work guarantee, separate agricultural budget and enhanced allocation for health and education will pave the way for the creation of massive employment opportunities and prove a game-changer in contrast to the stagnant economy of Modi’s crony capitalism. His Rafale brand of ‘chowkidar’ hypocrisy is a sinister threat to the people of India and it shall be exposed.

Arya Samaj activists have already started working actively on the ground in support of the Congress Party in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, MP, and Chhattisgarh.  In western UP thousands of our workers have sealed the fate of BJP stalwarts like Satya Pal Singh (Baghpat) and Sanjiv Baliyan (Muzaffarnagar).  In Bhopal, we are committed to defeat the rabble-rouser Pragya Thakur of BJP. Our Bandhua Mukti Morcha networks in tandem with those working for the masses of unorganized workers have supported Telangana Rashtra Samithi, and BJD in Orissa because of their path-breaking Income Guarantee Scheme for the poor farmers and landless labourers.  In Kerala, the Arya Samaj is in solidarity with the LDF led ably by Shri. Pinarayi Vijayan, the CM of Kerala. The Samaj is convinced that the left movement is a necessary bulwark against the Hindutva hordes seeking to vandalize the peace and stability of Kerala. We fully endorse the principled stand taken by the Left Parties in Kerala in regard to Kerala’s social renaissance with gender justice as its focal point, as in the case of the Sabarimala issue.

The Arya Samaj Movement commits itself to cooperating with every appropriate movement and political party to rid India of the menace of Hindutva politics, which is not only a threat to democratic-secular fabric of India but also to the spiritual core of Hinduism. The Vaidic faith has never faced the sort of internal crisis and disarray that it does now. The danger is all the more destructive for being internal. It is our spiritual duty to fight back this alien ideology that has shrewdly donned the mask of Hinduism, presuming on the gullibility of the common man. Maharshi Dayanand would have been at the forefront of fighting this deceptive aberration, given the threat it implies to the light of truth. So will the Arya Samaj Movement today as true followers of Dayanand.