BULANDSHAHR: Posters and banners are ubiquitous in election season but villages and kasbas dotting the countryside around Bulandshahr are surprisingly devoid of such campaign accoutrements this time around.
With the region traumatized and polarized after the Muzaffarnagar riots, several villages in this reserved (SC) Lok Sabha seat with 4 lakh Muslim voters have asked local workers of all political parties not to put up their posters and banners as these lead to heartburn later. These villages, TOI visited around 15, include both Muslim- and Hindu-dominated ones.
However, posters and banners were found in plenty in Bulandshahr town.
Asked the reason, 55-year-old Ashin Khan of Muslim-majority Dhakoli village said, "We requested workers of political parties to come and campaign, but not to put up posters as this unnecessarily creates disharmony and bitterness among people after polls."
Six km away, 58-year-old Mustakin of Dudhpur village gave a similar reason, saying candidates may win or lose but the result generally created problems as posters and banners on particular houses were seen as support to a specific party or candidate.
Was this decision taken collectively by all villages? 85-year-old Jagpal Singh of Hindu-dominated Saidpura village, 12 km away from Bulandshahr town, said, "Every village takes such decisions independently, taking in view past experience."
Another feature stands out in the region. Known for strong opposition to Hindu-Muslim or upper caste-lower caste marriages, the district appears to have embraced Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) candidate Anju alias Muskan (a Hindu Jatav woman married to a Muslim businessman) as a reality of modern India. Neither elderly Muslims nor young Jatavs find anything amiss in the union. Though older Hindus said it was still rare as inter-religious marriage was not accepted, they admitted that Muskan's projection would be a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity.
Interestingly, she is called Muskan in Muslim-dominated areas like Uper Kot and Anju in Hindu-dominated Niche Kot in Bulandshahr by party workers.
Though they are not sure whether the only woman candidate in Bulandshahr will win the election, they expect it to be a tough fight between her and BJP candidate Bhola Singh who has the backing of 'Lodh' strongman Kalyan Singh.
The constituency has a significant number of Lodh voters who may tilt the balance in favour of Bhola Singh even if dalit Jatavs vote for BSP candidate Pradeep Kumar Jatav or Muslims vote for Muskan.
But why would Muslims vote for Muskan when Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded sitting MP Kamlesh Valmiki as its candidate? Muslims have more or less made up their mind not to vote for SP this time, at least in Bulandshahr. Most of the Muslims TOI spoke to said SP had failed to secure their community in Muzaffarnagar.
"What is the guarantee that he may not fail again? We don't want SP or any political party to take us for granted," Mohammed Sajid of Uper Kot area said.
Besides 4 lakh Muslims, the constituency has 3.5 lakh Jats and 2.5 lakh dalits. While BJP expects to make the cut with the help of Lodh votes besides getting other traditional Hindu votes, Congress ally RLD hopes to get Muslim votes besides its traditional vote bank of Jats. Though some young Jats appear to have drifted towards BJP due to Narendra Modi's pull, the majority may stick with RLD.
BJP had finished second last time as most Lodh votes went to SP which was supported by Kalyan Singh...........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTQvMDQvMDkjQXIwMDkwMQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
With the region traumatized and polarized after the Muzaffarnagar riots, several villages in this reserved (SC) Lok Sabha seat with 4 lakh Muslim voters have asked local workers of all political parties not to put up their posters and banners as these lead to heartburn later. These villages, TOI visited around 15, include both Muslim- and Hindu-dominated ones.
However, posters and banners were found in plenty in Bulandshahr town.
Asked the reason, 55-year-old Ashin Khan of Muslim-majority Dhakoli village said, "We requested workers of political parties to come and campaign, but not to put up posters as this unnecessarily creates disharmony and bitterness among people after polls."
Six km away, 58-year-old Mustakin of Dudhpur village gave a similar reason, saying candidates may win or lose but the result generally created problems as posters and banners on particular houses were seen as support to a specific party or candidate.
Was this decision taken collectively by all villages? 85-year-old Jagpal Singh of Hindu-dominated Saidpura village, 12 km away from Bulandshahr town, said, "Every village takes such decisions independently, taking in view past experience."
Another feature stands out in the region. Known for strong opposition to Hindu-Muslim or upper caste-lower caste marriages, the district appears to have embraced Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) candidate Anju alias Muskan (a Hindu Jatav woman married to a Muslim businessman) as a reality of modern India. Neither elderly Muslims nor young Jatavs find anything amiss in the union. Though older Hindus said it was still rare as inter-religious marriage was not accepted, they admitted that Muskan's projection would be a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity.
Interestingly, she is called Muskan in Muslim-dominated areas like Uper Kot and Anju in Hindu-dominated Niche Kot in Bulandshahr by party workers.
Though they are not sure whether the only woman candidate in Bulandshahr will win the election, they expect it to be a tough fight between her and BJP candidate Bhola Singh who has the backing of 'Lodh' strongman Kalyan Singh.
The constituency has a significant number of Lodh voters who may tilt the balance in favour of Bhola Singh even if dalit Jatavs vote for BSP candidate Pradeep Kumar Jatav or Muslims vote for Muskan.
But why would Muslims vote for Muskan when Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded sitting MP Kamlesh Valmiki as its candidate? Muslims have more or less made up their mind not to vote for SP this time, at least in Bulandshahr. Most of the Muslims TOI spoke to said SP had failed to secure their community in Muzaffarnagar.
"What is the guarantee that he may not fail again? We don't want SP or any political party to take us for granted," Mohammed Sajid of Uper Kot area said.
Besides 4 lakh Muslims, the constituency has 3.5 lakh Jats and 2.5 lakh dalits. While BJP expects to make the cut with the help of Lodh votes besides getting other traditional Hindu votes, Congress ally RLD hopes to get Muslim votes besides its traditional vote bank of Jats. Though some young Jats appear to have drifted towards BJP due to Narendra Modi's pull, the majority may stick with RLD.
BJP had finished second last time as most Lodh votes went to SP which was supported by Kalyan Singh...........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTQvMDQvMDkjQXIwMDkwMQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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