On March 11, 2025, the people of Odisha witnessed a historic low in the Odisha State Legislative Assembly, where ruling party BJP Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) attacked opposition party members inside the house, which is considered the temple of democracy. The ruckus was not accidental; it was a result of the criminalisation of politics in the state. In Odisha, more than fifty percent of the MLA candidates contesting in the 2024 elections had criminal records. Among the winning candidates, fifty-eight percent of MLAs had criminal records, while forty-six percent were involved in serious criminal cases. Additionally, more than seventy-three percent of the MLAs were crorepati winners. These numbers highlight the reasons behind the democratic deficit in the state, where criminals dominate the State Assembly and influence state politics.
The Hindutva politics led by the BJP came to power with the promise of good governance and a commitment to ensuring the rule of law and curbing criminal influence in the state. However, after assuming power, the state has witnessed a sharp rise in crime and a collapse of law and order. Even opposition MLAs are not safe inside the Odisha State Assembly.
Such chaos within the Odisha Assembly is also a strategy to divert attention from the widespread discontent over the failures of Hindutva politics led by the BJP in Odisha. Even college student unions could govern the state better than the BJP. However, the BJP creates various political distractions to shift the public’s focus away from the relentless mineral loot occurring in the state. The criminalisation of politics is just one factor behind the chaos in the Odisha Assembly, where MLAs are behaving like street thugs. More importantly, Hindutva politics systematically instils fear among political opponents to suppress dissent, domesticate the masses, and eliminate opposition to its agenda of crony capitalism. This is a significant political strategy of Hindutva fascism.
The ideological cult of Hindutva politics and its canonical traditions uphold the dominance of power in the name of nationalist democracy. The rejection of reason and the suppression of disagreement and differences are integral to Hindutva politics, which cultivates leaders driven by power, frustration, and fear. Contempt for the weak, reverence for power, and the weaponization of the powerful are core aspects of Hindutva fascism. These traits were on full display in the Odisha Assembly today. Populist politics is a strategy to conceal the dangers of Hindutva fascism. Therefore, the people of Odisha must remain politically vigilant to recognize the larger scheme of Hindutva fascism and its dangers for the masses in the state.
Hindutva politics operates as an enterprise of a crime syndicate, serving the interests of the crony capitalist classes in India and beyond. Science, reason, secularism, and democratic governance are anathema to Hindutva ideology. As a result, criminals and crorepatis dominate Odisha’s politics under BJP government. The interests of the state and its people are secondary to Hindutva politics in the state. Odia Asmita is merely an electoral tool and strategy to divert attention from the pressing issues of hunger, homelessness, illiteracy, and poor health in Odisha.
Hindutva hooliganism is not merely promoting the criminalization of politics; it is the first step towards Hindutva fascism in the state. Today, it has shown its true colours within the Odisha Assembly, and tomorrow, it will spread to your cities, villages, and streets. No one will be safe or immune from Hindutva fascism. Crime and criminalisation are twin pillars of Hindutva fascism. In this way, Hindutva politics led by the BJP and its government is driving the state into social, political, and economic backwardness, where democracy faces its inevitable demise. Wake up, rise, and fight back against Hindutva politics before it is too late, as it threatens to destroy a peaceful, liberal, and secular state like Odisha.