Will UCC promise help BJP win Karnataka polls?

Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly elections which promised to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) if voted back to power.

"We will implement the Uniform Civil Code in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose," said BJP national president J.P. Nadda while releasing the manifesto.

With this, Karnataka became the fourth State where the BJP-led government has vowed to implement the UCC in recent months, the other being Uttarakhand, Assam and Gujarat.

The UCC, which envisions common personal civil laws for all citizens regardless of religion, is enshrined in our Constitution's Directive Principles. Its implementation has been a long-standing agenda of BJP.

The code aims at having a single law or set of laws in the country applicable to all irrespective of the region they belong to. This means personal laws governing marriage, divorce and succession will be governed by a common set of laws, irrespective of the religion.

Referring to UCC, Article 44 states that, "The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." Currently, different laws apply to different religious communities in personal affairs.

The BJP, which aims to return to power in Karnataka is leaving no stone unturned to woo voters. Though, the saffron party is battling anti-incumbency, it has kept its Hindutva vote base happy by implementing laws against cow slaughter, passing laws on religious conversions and inter-religious marriages.

Karnataka has over 85 per cent Hindu population. However, political pundits think it's caste politics that drives the State's polity.