Chants of “Bajrang Bali” have been echoing in Congress circles since Saturday, and the party has flooded cyberspace with Hanuman symbolism.

The Congress’s national website shows Rahul Gandhi with Karnataka leaders P.C. Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar under a giant statue of Bajrang Bali. The Congress Twitter handles in election-bound Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana are teeming with Bajrang Bali imagery.

This almost comes as a culture shock, as the Congress tends to avoid religious symbols in its political discourse.

No, the Grand Old Party has not abandoned its ideology for political gain, it has merely tweaked its tactical positioning to challenge the BJP’s purported monopoly on Hinduism, explained a senior Congress leader.

Asked about the overt use of the Bajrang Bali symbolism, the senior Congress leader told The Telegraph: “Under normal circumstances, we avoid using religious symbols. But the BJP has completely vitiated the social environment.”

“They (BJP leaders) brazenly identify themselves as the ‘Hindu party’ and portray the Congress as pro-Muslim,” he said, adding that a large section of the Hindu population has accepted the lie that the Congress is anti-Hindu.

“The truth is that the Congress is predominantly Hindu but we don’t do politics in the garb of religion, and we uphold the constitutional spirit. Now we are being forced to challenge the perception that the BJP is the sole protector of Hindu interests.”

While the Chhattisgarh Congress too posted “Bajrang Bali” messages, it took care to say: “Karnataka has echoed the message of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, that politics of hate and division won’t work any more. Despite the misuse of Bajrang Bali in the election, the BJP has been ground to dust.”

State Congress chief Mohan Makram offered prayers at a Hanuman temple and held a victory procession, but chief minister Bhupesh Baghel emphasised: “People have shown they will not get diverted by the BJP’s tricks of using Bajrang Bali; they will now vote on their own concerns.”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge arrives at his residence in New Delhi on Sunday PTI picture

The Twitter handle of the Madhya Pradesh Congress has been awash with memes, slogans and illustrations of Lord Hanuman since the election results in Karnataka.

The most prominent meme goes like this: Bajrang Bali comes flying to Lord Ram and says, ‘With your blessings, truth has won in Karnataka’. Ram tells Hanuman, ‘Now take care of your bhakt Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh’.”

Kamal Nath, who has long fashioned himself as a “Hanuman bhakt”, has installed a giant statue of Bajrang Bali in his Lok Sabha constituency Chhindwara, now represented by his son Nakul.

The former chief minister takes pride in his religiosity and keeps organising religious events at the party office. However, any misgivings that he may have chosen to imitate the BJP in using religion for votes would be misplaced.

On Sunday, addressing a Jat conference in Bhopal, Kamal Nath stressed India’s constitutional values, saying: “India is a unique country with so many religions, castes, languages, festivals…. But our social and cultural values rest on fraternity and we all stand united under one flag.

“We have to protect our social values and cultural traditions. Babasaheb Ambedkar gave us a beautiful Constitution, and it is our duty to protect the constitutional values.”

Kamal Nath may flaunt his Hindu identity, but he shuns anti-Muslim rhetoric and polarising politics.

The current “Bajrang Bali” chants in Congress circles are also partly meant to mock Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brazen attempt to polarise voters in Karnataka by invoking the god.

Chhattisgarh chief minister Baghel said Modi had suffered a personal defeat in Karnataka.

“The BJP fought the state election with Modi as its face. The people rejected him. The people showed that Bajrang Bali is with the Congress, not with the BJP. BJP workers themselves have now started talking about Yogi Adityanath.”

In Rajasthan too, despite using Bajrang Bali symbols, party chief Govind Dotasara said: “The Bharat Jodo Yatra ushered in a change in national politics: a constructive agenda has replaced the negative politics of hate and division.”

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera summed up the mood in the party while taking a dig at Modi.

“Religion is a matter of personal faith, of spiritual conduct, not of political campaign. Comparing the Bajrang Dal with Bajrang Bali (which Modi had done during the Karnataka campaign) is the greatest insult to the Hindu religion,” he said.

“I’m sure Modi will regret his decision after Karnataka rejected his ploy. He tried to create a controversy at every meeting. In fact, 50 per cent of the credit for our victory goes to Modi. His utterances helped us.”