UCC Is No Longer A Motivational Factor For The BJP’s Hindu Voters

The BJP is finding it difficult to implement the last of its three key political agendas—the Uniform Civil Code (UCC)—having successfully accomplished the other two, the abrogation of Article 370 and the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Recent moves for a state-by-state push for a common civil-law framework, overriding existing personal laws, appear to have been stalled by the diverse religious and social customs prevalent across the country as well as the legal intricacies imposed by the Indian Constitution. To compound problems facing the Modi government-sponsored UCC, this is being strongly resisted by tribal communities fearing it would interfere with their ancestral practices, and also some allies of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) who are not fully on board with the intended law.

Constitutional And Legal Hurdles

Although the Constitution does advise a common civil code, bringing together various personal laws under a single law, it is not strictly enforceable but just a proposal contained in the Directive Principles. However, another crucial constitutional provision allows state-led passage of the UCC by individual legislative assemblies, and it is this path that the government has chosen to implement the law bitterly opposed by the entire Opposition. The BJP’s enthusiasm for the UCC is primarily directed against the Muslim minority and has been a key demand of the Sangh Parivar ever since the controversial Shah Bano judgement more than four decades ago when a Muslim woman was denied personal maintenance on the basis of Sharia laws, with the judge regretting that the court could not interfere without a uniform civil code.

Not surprisingly, as the BJP’s politics turned increasingly communal in the past few decades, the party has increased its clamour for the UCC, using it to rally Hindu sentiments against religious minorities and a less successful bid to enlist the support of Muslim women. While the demand for a common law overriding personal laws had paid some political dividends for the Sangh Parivar, it has continued to face legal hurdles. While the judiciary has repeatedly endorsed the constitutional desirability of greater uniformity in civil laws, it has pointed out the limits of judicial power in compelling Parliament to legislate on the matter. Earlier in March this year, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, while hearing a challenge to Muslim inheritance rules suggesting that a UCC could provide the legislative answer to gender discrimination in personal laws, cautioned against judicially striking down an existing personal-law rule without a legal provision replacing it.

State-Level UCC Push

Significantly, barely a fortnight ago, Home Minister Amit Shah announced that all 21 states governed by the NDA will bring in state-specific uniform civil codes before the 2029 general election. So far, four BJP-ruled states—Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Assam—have already legislatively passed the UCC. However, all four have specifically exempted the Scheduled Tribes from the new law.

While it is neither unconstitutional nor illegal since laws governing personal civil matters are included in the concurrent list (which means states are empowered to frame their own set of rules), different civil codes in different states defeat the very purpose of a uniform civil code. The exemption of tribals from the UCC is also likely to raise questions of the uniformity of such a code.

In fact, in Uttarakhand, the first to legislate a state-specific civil code, the law has been challenged in both the High Court and the Supreme Court, disrupting its implementation. Three other BJP-ruled states, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Assam, which have passed a similar law using the Uttarakhand code as a prototype, have halted in their tracks, seeing the legal problems the UCC is facing there. In fact, the laws in the three states have not yet received even presidential assent.

Allies Express Reservations

Meanwhile, there have been discordant noises from within the NDA as well. The JD(U), for instance, spoke in different voices. While some senior leaders, like veteran legislator Shyam Rajak, have flatly ruled out a UCC in Bihar, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, being in government with the BJP, took a more nuanced stand but also emphasised the need for wider and more detailed consultations before going ahead. Important Dalit leader and central minister Chirag Paswan, the chief of another key ally, the Lok Shakti Janata Party, has also adopted a cautious, wait-and-watch approach, pending the official final draft of the bill.

Yet another BJP ally, the TDP, while expressing broad support for the proposal, suggested that it may push for thorough consultations first with all stakeholders. The BJP’s erstwhile ally, the Akali Dal, with which it is in talks for an alliance for next year’s assembly poll in Punjab, has its reservations as well. The Sikh community comes within the ambit of the Hindu personal law. However, it has been pressing for a separate personal law for a long time on grounds that Sikhism has its own codes and should not be treated as part of the overarching Hindu family.

Political Timing And Opposition

It is surprising, therefore, that the Modi government has chosen to bring up such a contentious issue at a time when the BJP is on the back foot, following nationwide youth protests, inspired by the Cockroach Janta Party’s sit-in at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, over exam leaks and growing unemployment among graduates linked to the overall decline in the education quality across the country. On the other hand, considering the difficulties and potential roadblocks ahead, it is possible that Amit Shah’s announcement is geared for next year’s crucial UP Assembly election. Clearly, it is an attempt to regroup its core voters and energise them with a polarising issue like the UCC.

Yet, there is reason to believe that the Uniform Civil Code is no longer such a motivating factor for most Hindu voters. Many of them are disenchanted with the ruling party with respect to the donation theft at the Ram temple. There are also other strong headwinds like the mounting price of sugar, grains, and fuel, along with the continuing protests by Gen Alpha over the dismal state of schools and other educational institutions in UP that could make the BJP’s gambit a non-starter.

The writer is a senior journalist.

Published on: Thursday, October 01, 2026, 09:02 PM IST