The right-wing organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has planned an extensive distribution of tridents in Delhi ahead of the upcoming Assembly, a move that has ignited a discussion.
The organisation has targeted over 50,000 tridents to be distributed in the national capital out of this, around 7000-8000 tridents have been distributed. The campaign launched on December 15 includes events in Paharganj and other locations with the next event scheduled for January 19, according to The Wire’s report.
On the other hand, several VHP leaders including Surendra Gupta and Surendra Jain insist that the campaign has no connection with electoral strategy and the distribution is part of a cultural and religious exercise, rooted in Hindu symbolism. They claimed that the trident represents divine weaponry with gods and goddesses traditionally depicted holding weapons.
However, the campaign bears several hallmarks of political mobilization. The tridents are specially designed in a way that they do not violate the Arms Act. Furthermore, the tridents are being distributed with the help of registration through WhatsApp numbers, effectively serving as the recruitment drive for the Bajrang Dal youth wing.
Additionally, the announcement of the campaign’s timing coincides closely with the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls, which are expected to be declared in the first week of January while voting could take place in the third week of February 2025.
A religious campaign with political overtones
The distribution events have particularly focused on politically charged rhetoric, such as “Bangladeshi infiltrators” and pledges to combat perceived threats like “love jihad” and “land jihad”.
More significantly, the campaign’s messaging echoes electoral strategies used in previous election campaigns in Maharashtra and Jharkhand by BJP and Hindutva organisations.
For instance, during the weapon distribution in Paharganj, VHP leader Jathedar Harjeet Singh stated, “Here, you have received one. But you must own five such of five feet each in your house. Consume less food, purchase a cheaper mobile phone, anything, only promise to have five tridents in a home”.
While speaking to right-wing TV channel Sudarshan News during the ceremony, the VHP Delhi state president Kapil Khanna remarked, “We are committed to turning out the non-Hindu sinners from Delhi.” We promised to eradicate all the social evils including love jihad, and land jihad being propagated by people from other religions in Delhi. We have also committed to protecting cows.”
One of the peculiarities of the campaign is its symbolic administration by Rahul Bhante, a Buddhist saint whose traditional teachings emphasize non-violence.
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