When the CDs containing the hate speeches of Varun Gandhi were requisitioned by the Election Commission, it caught the Bharatiya Janata Party off guard. The party did not know how to react. The brass of the BJP including Varun’s mom chose to keep mum for nearly a week.

Advani who is projected as the determined leader of BJP too seemed not too determined. He was as confused as anybody else in the party.

Varun was, in fact, more confused than anybody else. First, he was trying to ride on the crest of glory brought about by his unpleasant utterances about Muslims and Sikhs. Then he lost his spine and contended that the CDs were doctored. It is interesting to note that Varun’s father is of Muslim descent and his mother is of Sikh descent.

Though he lied about his education in England, he is an educated man. The kind of issues he was raising through unsubstantiated lies and the language he was using do not seem to be his own.

It is quite possible that some people within the BJP or one of the units of sangh parivaar who might have been unhappy with the meteoric rise of Maneka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi in the BJP might have indoctrinated him and encouraged him to deliver those hate speeches. And, there is every possibility that Varun might have played into their hands.

But, the event took an unusual turn and Varun became a hero overnight. That might have pulled the carpet from under the feet of whoever was trying to manipulate him and dislodge him from the BJP.

Again, this event threw up some interesting reactions. After a week of studied silence when Maneka chose to open her mouth, she said the congress was trying to shove the 1984 riots under the carpet by raking up this issue. Advani too found his tongue and he said it was the election commission which made Varun Gandhi a hero.

The BJP’s stand on the issue is more confusing than anything else. They say that the BJP condemns whatever Varun Gandhi said but it still supports his candidature from Pilibhit. This takes the cake. In effect, what the BJP is saying is that Varun was wrong but we support the wrong!

Though there are differences of opinion on whether Varun should have been charged under the National Security Act, there is widespread agreement that he should be punished for his hate speeches which were directed at furthering the communal divide.

It is not clear as to how far Varun succeeded in driving a wedge between the Hindus and the Muslims in Pilibhit. One thing is for certain: With these hate speeches, Varun has set into motion polarization of hardline Hindus from moderate Hindus.

Some Hindus have started identifying themselves with Varun’s brand of Hindutva and many others have started distancing themselves from it. This may not augur well for the BJP in the long run.