“Holi is a special festival and comes only once in year while Friday comes 52 times a year,” Chaudhary, a wrestler-turned-police officer also known as a ‘super cop’, told the media after a peace committee meeting.
He added: “If the people of the Muslim community feel that the colours of Holi will corrupt their religion, then they should not leave their homes on that day. If any miscreant is found doing anything wrong on Holi, then he will not be spared. We will not let peace and order deteriorate in Sambhal.”
His remarks, widely circulated on social media, sparked a wider push by BJP leaders across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal and Delhi, urging Muslims to remain inside for Friday prayers.
Chaudhary’s comments received an endorsement from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the India Today Conclave, where he said: “Our police officer has been a wrestler, he is an Arjuna awardee, he is a former Olympian. If he speaks in a wrestler’s tone, some people may feel bad, but whatever he said is the truth and that truth should be accepted.”
He added: “On the occasion of Holi, one should respect each other’s feelings. Jumme ki namaz is held every Friday and Holi comes once a year. This is what has been said and explained with love.”
“I would like to thank those Muslim leaders who issued a statement that let Holi be organised first. Holi is on March 14. Let Holi be played till 2 o’clock. Then you can offer namaz at 2:30. Those who want to offer namaz before, they can offer namaz at their home too,” Yogi further said.
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s endorsement opened the floodgates for BJP leaders.
State minister Raghuraj Singh went so far as to suggest that Muslims should wear “tarpaulin hijabs” while leaving the house for namaz.
“Wearing a tarpaulin hijab will protect their caps and white clothes from colour and gulal. Holi comes once a year and while throwing colours, people playing Holi do not see how far the colour is going,” he told reporters in Aligarh.
Singh even suggested building a Ram Temple at Aligarh Muslim University, saying he would “offer the first brick to build the Ram temple in AMU”.
BJP leaders from Bihar and Rajasthan to Delhi and West Bengal have also urged Muslims to stay indoors during Holi.
“I appeal to my Muslim brothers to stay inside their homes this time to allow Hindus to celebrate Holi peacefully. This time, Muslims should offer namaz at home to maintain harmony,” said Delhi BJP MLA Karnail Singh, who defeated the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Satyendar Jain. “Namaz happens 52 times a year, but Holi comes only once. So it’s necessary for the Muslim community to offer namaz at home.”
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‘80% versus 20% narrative’
Analysts said the BJP’s Holi narrative appears to be another attempt to leverage religious festivities to consolidate the Hindu vote as it prepares for one state election after another.
In some states, where the BJP is in opposition, the party relies on the anti-incumbency plank to overthrow incumbents, as seen in the recent Delhi polls. But in states where the BJP is in power, analysts say it needs to maintain the Hindutva momentum to hold on to its core voter base.
With states from Bihar to Bengal, Assam and Uttar Pradesh going to the polls over this year and the next, the BJP needs a polarising issue to consolidate support, analysts said.
“Uttar Pradesh has 19 percent Muslims. So, the ruling party wants to use Holi, Diwali or Ram Navami to consolidate its constituency by widening the faultlines between Hindus and Muslims and by pushing the ‘80 percent versus 20 percent’ narrative,” Shashi Kant Pandey of Ambedkar University told ThePrint.
“With assembly polls coming up, this narrative will be amplified. Earlier, statements by fringe elements and clashes were confined to Ram Navami and Shivratri. But now, even on Holi, such disturbing rhetoric has become mainstream,” Pandey added.
The Uttar Pradesh assembly election is still two years away in 2027, but the setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha election has forced the BJP to search for issues beyond Ayodhya, which is not resonating with the masses.
In Bihar, a clash of allies
The Holi celebrations and Friday prayers issue is finding greater resonance in election-bound Bihar.
Speaking on the Holi-Namaz controversy, firebrand Bihar BJP leader Hari Bhushan Thakur said in Patna, “Juma comes 52 times in a year but Holi comes only once in a year. Muslims should not come out in the open on Holi if they want to avoid colour.”
Darbhanga mayor Anjum Ara sparked controversy with her response to a request by a BJP MLA to advance the Friday prayer timing, saying Holi celebrations should be stopped for two hours between 12.30 pm and 2 pm on Friday as the juma timing couldn’t be advanced.
The Janata Dal (United) leader’s comments triggered a firestorm within the BJP, with Thakur describing her as embodying a “Ghazwa-e-Hind and Taliban mindset”.
“Holi will be celebrated as usual. There will no delay of even one minute in Holi celebrations. The mayor’s mindset is Ghazwa-e-Hind. Such people want to make Bihar an Islamic state for Muslim votes. Many leaders will not speak today, but the BJP will oppose such a mindset in Bihar,” the BJP MLA told ThePrint.
The mayor apologised following instructions from the party leadership, with even JD(U) minister Ashok Choudhary urging her to exercise restraint while speaking.
With the BJP MLA’s statement sparking controvery in Bihar, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav and JD(U)’s minority affairs minister Zama Khan in Nitish Kumar’s cabinet asked the BJP not to incite and disturb communal harmony in the state.
Tejashwi Yadav asked whether Chief Minister Nitish Kumar endorsed the BJP MLA’s statement. “Bihar is not Thakur’s father’s jagir (property). Why isn’t Nitish Kumar reprimanding the BJP MLA?” Yadav told the media in Patna.
He went on to invoke Bihar’s legacy of communal harmony, saying such divisive rhetoric would not be tolerated in a state where Ram and Rahim have long been celebrated together. “Today, the chief minister is playing into the RSS’s hands.”
Tejashwi further said: “This is Bihar. Here, five Hindus stand in support and protection of every Muslim. Don’t make fun of the Constitution; stay within your limits. As long as there are people in Bihar who believe in the RJD and Lalu ji’s ideology, we will not let any riots happen. Whether we get power in return or lose.”
Zama Khan also reacted sharply to the BJP MLA’s statement.
“As far as namaz is concerned, people offer namaz in the mosque on Friday. If the clothes they wear that day get stained in any way, they do not offer namaaz. That is why people are told not to throw colour gulal on namazis,” Khan said to the media in Patna.
“But if it accidentally gets on someone, there is no problem because in Bihar all people live with brotherhood, and all festivals are celebrated with brotherhood. As long as Nitish Kumar is chief minister, there is no threat to secularism.”
The JD(U) distanced itself from Thakur’s comments.
“Thakur is not the official spokesperson of the party and is not holding any post. So, his statement doesn’t hold much significance. In Bihar, both festivals are celebrated with harmony and in Nitish’s rule any disturbance will not be allowed,” party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told ThePrint.
“Holi is a festival of the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb and it’s celebrated together. In Bihar, only 1.2 percent people vote on religious lines. They mostly vote on issues. So, whether it’s Tejashwi Yadav or Thakur, they should know history,” he added.
‘Holi & Eid have long been tools of political outreach’
Analysts said the BJP’s strategy in Bihar was tactical and aimed at fragmenting the secular vote through Hindutva politics.
“After the caste survey, it’s clear that Muslims are not a monolithic group in Bihar and they vote based on their preferences, not as a single block. The BJP wants the alliance under Nitish to continue after the election but with a weakened stature for Nitish so that he can’t claim the chief minister’s post,” D.M. Diwakar, former head of Patna’s A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies, told ThePrint.
“So, the BJP is using every trick to divide secular votes through Hindutva politics. Bihar is a different state—here, Muslims often celebrate Holi and Chhath as well. The social fabric of Bihar is different other states, but the BJP is trying to consolidate its Hindu vote bank through these tricks,” he added.
Political analysts and leaders said Holi and Eid have long been tools of political outreach in India, symbolisng communal harmony and inclusivity.
According to Sinha, Holi was celebrated with great fervour during the Mughal era as Eid-e-Gulabi at Agra Fort and the Red Fort in Delhi. “Holi was always a festival of political outreach, like Eid. Even in the Bhakti period, Holi used to be celebrated by both communities. Only during namaz, a few Muslims avoided colour. If we read Sufi saints from Amir Khusro to Bulleh Shah, many verses were written celebrating Holi.”
A former BJP leader said both Holi and Eid celebrations have traditionally been used to promote communal harmony. The leaders recalled how the Iftar culture was celebrated during former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpyee’s tenure and the Congress era.
“Vajpayee was very fond of celebrating Holi, and Yashwant Sinha and other leaders would bring bhang and colour to the prime minister’s residence to celebrate Holi. Many leaders in their time, from Vajpayee to Lalu, used to celebrate Holi and Eid for political outreach,” the former BJP leader told ThePrint.
“Even rivals came together to celebrate Holi, but now these festivals have become a new war zone between two communities for polarisation.”
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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