The garment has also come close to creating a rift between the BJP and its ally, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), whose legislators have first opened the conservative politics ball. Electorally, both parties heavily rely more or less on the conservative Hindu voter, who is relishing the prospects of a Hindutva revival under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In June, MGP's supremo and cabinet minister Sudin Dhavalikar demanded a ban on bikinis, mini skirts and pub culture. A month later his younger brother Deepak, also a cabinet minister, openly wished for a Hindu Rashtra under Modi. Days later, in the assembly, another MGP legislator, Lavu Mamledar, demanded a special 'private' beach for bikini-clad bathers with a fee for entry.
Such moralspeak, for members of the BJP-led coalition government which otherwise unabashedly protects and promotes the casino industry, may seem out of place. But there appears to be a method to the MGP's madness and unceasing obsession with the bikini and the 'Western culture' bashing in Goa which sees half a million sun-loving European tourists annually.
