Is BJP considering revoking Nupur Sharma's suspension, using her in active politics?

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata party is understood to be contemplating revoking the suspension of its former spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who was suspended from the party in 2022 after her alleged controversial comments against Prophet Muhammad during a television debate.

Senior leaders in the saffron unit feel that Nupur can be pitched as a strong Hindutva face in the national capital ahead of the Lok Sabha elections or during next year’s Legislative Assembly polls.

“We are discussing the matter of revocation of Nupur Sharma’s suspension. Ultimately the party high command will take the call on the issue. The suspension was done back in the day as a policy decision and will be reviewed at the right time,” a senior BJP leader said.

Interestingly, this would not be the first time that the saffron unit has revoked the suspension of a controversial and firebrand leader. Ahead of Telangana Assembly polls, the BJP had revoked the suspension of its firebrand legislator Tiger Raja Singh.

Raja Singh was the face of the saffron front in Telangana for the past several years and helped the BJP secure the votes of the Hindu population. The revocation was a tactical success for the party as it went on to secure its best-ever performance in the state polls.

Will BJP bring Nupur back to active politics?

While Nupur Sharma has been suspended since 2022, she has tried to maintain a low profile as there is a danger of her being targeted by fundamentalist elements. However, despite the drawbacks and restrictions on her movement, she has been spotted publicly a few times over the past few months.

While she was seen at the wedding reception of a top BJP leader’s son, Nupur was also seen participating in a Ganesh Puja in New Delhi. She was also seen performing a puja at Mahakal temple in Ujjain. This intermittent surfacing of the suspended BJP leader also indicates that the party is testing the waters regarding her final revocation of suspension.

Nupur Sharma was suspended from the party after his controversial comments in 2022 and a section of the party feels that her suspension could have been avoided.

The local cadre sees it as a knee-jerk reaction as she had only quoted scriptures of a religion.

“Bringing her back to mainstream politics is expected to help the BJP in the long run. It will also send a message that the party doesn’t abandon any of its loyal leaders and would always stand by them,” sources added.

Apart from support for Nupur from the local BJP cadres and leaders, internationally too leaders opposed to fundamentalism have backed her.

Dutch politician and leader of the Party For Freedom Geert Wilders also backed BJP leader Nupur Sharma over her remarks on Prophet Muhammad during a TV debate. 

“Never give in to Islamic terrorists like Al-Qaida, they represent barbarism. The whole Indian nation should rally around #napursharma now and support her. Al Qaida and the Taliban put me on their hitlist years ago. One lesson: never bow to terrorists. Never!" he had said.

Nupur Sharma is a hero who spoke nothing but the truth. The whole world should be proud of her. She deserves the Nobel Prize. And India is a Hindu nation, the Indian government is obliged to strongly defend Hindus against Islamic hate and violence.

#NupurSharma #India #Islam pic.twitter.com/kVkQjEr3RN

— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) October 9, 2022

It is noteworthy that after the controversial statement of Nupur Sharma, a tailor Kanhaiya Lal was murdered by religious fanatics in Rajasthan’s Udaipur. After this, concern was also raised about the safety of Nupur Sharma and Delhi Police provided her special security.

Any decision on the revocation of Nupur Sharma’s suspension should not be in haste and needs to be taken by the BJP keeping all these issues in mind, political observers opine.