Frontline Conversations

For RSS-BJP-Hindutva, Gandhi is the real enemy: Ashutosh

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Published on May 23, 2025.
In a wide-ranging interview with Frontline Conversations, veteran journalist and Satya Hindi co-founder Ashutosh offers a stark analysis of India's political trajectory since 2014, characterising Narendra Modi's rise as a "right-wing revolution" that has fundamentally disrupted the nation's constitutional consensus. Speaking with host Abhinav Chakraborty about his new book "Reclaiming Bharat: What Changed in 2024 and What Lies Ahead", the former TV news anchor examines how the 2024 Lok Sabha election results signal potential cracks in the BJP's Hindutva project while warning that the RSS remains committed to dismantling Gandhian and Nehruvian ideals in its quest for a Hindu Rashtra.
Context:
"Reclaiming Bharat" offers a sharp, insightful analysis of India’s 2024 general election—one of the most consequential in the country’s history. Amid fears that a sweeping BJP victory could lead to fundamental constitutional changes, the party fell short of its ambitious “400 paar” target, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-pitched campaign and the symbolic consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Surprisingly, even Ayodhya did not deliver a win for the BJP.
Journalist Ashutosh dissects the gap between the BJP’s narrative and electoral outcomes, exploring why the party’s communal pitch failed to yield the expected results. Through a nuanced examination of political, social, and economic undercurrents, the book reveals how voters responded to the complex realities beneath the rhetoric. It is both a chronicle of a historic election and a lens into India’s uncertain political future.
Highlights:

  • Why Ashutosh decided to write Reclaiming Bharat
  • Why Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister in 2014 is a "right wing revolution"
  • Significance of the 2024 Lok Sabha election results
  • What BJP's political hegemony for Gandhi-Nehru's idea of a pluralistic India
  • Validity of concerns of ECI's functioning and doubts over EVMs
  • State of Muslims in India under Narendra Modi
  • How BJP's defeat in Ayodhya shows fragility of Hindutva narrative
  • Electoral impact of caste census in upcoming Bihar Assembly election
  • Whom will RSS choose as Modi's successor in BJP
    • People who wish to understand Indian politics
    • Those interested in books about Indian politics
    • People interested in Hindutva ideology
    • People interested in the significance of the 2024 Lok Sabha election results
    • Those who are interested in how BJP can be challenged by the Opposition
    • Those interested in the RSS-BJP driven by Hindutva
    • Those who like listening to interviews about Indian politics

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      Credits:
      Host: Abhinav Chakraborty
      Editing: Razal Pareed
      Production Assistant: Kavya Pradeep M.
      Producer: Abhinav Chakraborty
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