BackCommunal polarization gives BJP the edge in western UP
A combination of local aspirations and fear is proving to be a clincher for the BJP in Muzaffarnagar district
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Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh: There is an uneasy calm in Kawal. The village in Muzaffarnagar district was ground zero in last year’s communal riots that claimed 40 lives, wounded 85 and left some 51,000 Muslims homeless.
Both Hindu and Muslim villagers claim to be living in peace now. But a Ram Navami procession that winds it way peacefully through the village amid tight security has one conspicuous absence: Muslims.
Traditionally, Hindus and Muslims here participate in each other’s festivals but clearly the wounds are yet to heal, and that has obvious implications for voting preferences in the polls on Thursday.
On 27 August 2013, six Hindu Jat men from the nearby Mallikpura village attacked and killed Shahnawaz in Kawal village, accusing him of eve- teasing a female relative. In turn, Muslims in Kawal village caught hold of two of them—Gaurav Chaudhury and Sachin Chaudhury—and lynched them. Muslims in the village, however, claim a minor scuffle and not eve-teasing led to the deaths.
Communal tension had been stoked. On 7 September, hundreds of thousands of Jats and other Hindus attended a meeting in the playground of Bharatiya Inter College in Nangla Mandore village and demanded police action. The Jats claim that as the meeting dispersed, people making their way from it were waylaid and attacked by Muslims, killing eight.
Later, the violence spread to other parts of Muzaffarnagar killing dozens and displacing many from their native place.
By the time a semblance of calm was restored, the social equations had been rewritten, not just in Muzaffarnagar but across western Uttar Pradesh. The political casualties of this structural shift have been the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), and the beneficiary, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“In earlier elections, our votes used to be divided among the Samajwadi Party, RLD and BJP. But after the riots, we have decided to vote only for (BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra) Modi," said Anshul Lamba, 41, a farmer in the Jat village of Nangla Kabir.
Similarly, Rajiv Lamba, a government official in the agriculture department, said Jats are unhappy with RLD chief and Union minister Ajit Singh since he neither showed up during the riots nor ensured a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry. “This time we are not going to vote for him. But tomorrow is another day," he adds.
Most people who were interviewed maintained that Narendra Modi tilted the scales for the party. “Had it been anybody other than Modi leading the BJP, we might not have voted for BJP," Lamba said. Other villagers standing around him endorsed his choice.
What did Lamba make of Modi aide Amit Shah’s remarks, made in an election rally, urging people to take “revenge" through votes? Lamba said that though Shah should have been careful with his choice of words, he had not said anything wrong. “He has not asked for an armed revolt. He is only asking to take revenge through ballots," he added.
The Election Commission of India has issued notice to Shah for his alleged hate speech and the Congress and SP have demanded his arrest.
Not only Jats are turning to the BJP. In Sandhawali, a village with majority Dalit voters and a sizable Muslim population, Phul Singh, 70, a Dalit farmer, said he will vote for Modi, ignoring caste affiliations. Singh, a traditional supporter of Mayawati’s pro-Dalit Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), said the former UP chief minister has not done any developmental work for Dalits and has only benefited from caste politics. “Our people need development and jobs. Mayawati has failed to provide it for us," he said.
Last year’s riots have increased the social insecurities of Dalits. “If the Muslims did not spare the mighty Jats, will they spare the Dalits? So we have to vote for somebody who can protect us. That’s why we are voting for Modi," said Dal Singh, 56, also a Dalit farmer.
A combination of local aspirations and fear is proving to be a clincher for the BJP in Muzaffarnagar district, which has a population of 4.1 million with 47% women and a literacy rate of 58%, according to Census 2011. The district has a 1.3 million working population.
Sunil Kumar, 23, a first-time voter, said Mayawati did little for his community. Only Modi could bring down inflation, and deliver jobs and development to his community, he added.
Seemab Zaid, a lawyer in Sandhawali village said local Muslims have been voting for the BSP, which has fielded its sitting member of Parliament Kadir Rana. Zaid said there is no such thing as a Modi wave on the ground, but it did exist in the media. “Ye to hawa hai. Kabhi bhi kisi or mod le sakta hai." (This is like the wind which can take a turn in any direction at any time).
Aftab Alam, a sweet shop owner in Kawal, said there’s hardly any enthusiasm among villagers for elections this time, though everybody will vote. After delimitation, Kawal village now falls in Bijnor Lok Sabha constituency which is currently represented by the RLD. Though the SP has fielded Shahnawaz Rana, Alam said that as in 2009, most Muslims in the village will vote for BSP candidate Malook Nagar, a Gujjar candidate. There is widespread disenchantment with the SP among Muslims for failing to protect them during the riots.
In general, members of Gujjar community in the region continue to support the SP as the party has put up a Gujjar candidate, Virender Singh Gujjar, in Muzaffarnagar.
In Bhatoda village, dominated by Gujjars but with a sizeable Muslim population, Vedpal Singh, a former sarpanch (village headman) said it remained peaceful during the riots. “We protected the Muslims by guarding the village during the night for 9-10 days. We are not supporting the BJP candidate like the Jats. We will go with the SP candidate who is not involved in any disputes and has a good track record."
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