“ Peetal Nagari has been reduced to mitti ki nagri (city of clay),” was the common refrain across polling booths in Moradabad, also known as the ‘city of brass’, which is still reeling under the effects of demonetisation and GST.
Some held the BJP responsible for it, others wanted to give the party another chance to redeem itself. “Joblessness is the biggest issue in this election,” said Mohd. Aslam, at the Girls Senior High School near the famed Peerazada Road, the hub of the brass industry. “I worked as a contractor in the brass industry, now I work as a labourer to make ends meet. There are many like me who were forced to leave the industry after demonetisation. Some are running autosrickshaws, some have put up vegetable stalls.”
Added Shehzade Alam, an artisan, “Now, the exporters are using us as bonded labourers and the police are looting us in the name of GST. You let the rich go scot-free but you want to make us, who deal only in thousands, to become completely honest.”
At the Sushila Kanya School, exporter Vineet Verma said people had high expectations from the BJP government, some of which were not fulfilled. “It was only the domestic market that was affected by demonetisation. There was cash crunch in the market for a long time and half-skilled workers went out of the system. Things are coming back to normal. There is no anger against the government but we think the government could have done more.”
In the Jama Masjid area, at the Hewett Muslim Inter College booth, Rubina Begum said the “loss in business” could be “forgotten” but the “divide” that the present government had created “between Hindus and Muslims” could not. “When the Wazir-e-Azam [Prime Minister] is talking on divisive lines, how could we complain about the BJP candidate who didn’t even have the decency to visit the Muslim areas. There is an atmosphere of fear.”
Triangular contest
In the ‘city of brass’, the alloy of Mahagathbandhan is on test as SP candidate Dr. S.T. Hasan is taking on sitting BJP MP Sarvesh Singh and Imran Pratapgarhi of the Congress. In 2014, the real estate magnate defeated the surgeon by a margin of over 87,000 votes. This time a poet, Mr. Pratapgarhi, has also joined the fray.
At Government Primary School, Manglupura, Parag Kaushik, who runs a shop of brass artefacts, said the election was not being fought on local issues. “Nationalism is the top priority which the Congress doesn’t believe in. Rahul Gandhi is playing the Brahmin card in Amethi and Christian card in Wayanad,” he alleged. At KCM school, teacher Ashwini Gupta said, “I can see development, but what Moradabad needs is a government university. The region lacks in education sector.”
SP candidate Azam Khan’s use of derogatory words against BJP’s Jaya Prada in neighbouring Rampur was on the mind of some voters. “He [Azam Khan] is an emotional person. But he should not have used such words. It is going to cut SP votes in the city,” said Shakeel Ur Rehman Shamsi, a Congress sympathiser.
In Valmiki colony in Katghar, first-time voter Vishesh Katarria said he didn’t want to vote but his family forced him to. “[BSP chief] Mayawati has deserted us and the BJP is only pushing us to express our Hindu identity. On the ground, our situation is the same. There is rampant joblessness and the police still use us to highlight that law and order is in control. Every time there is anti-Romeo campaign, we are slapped or rounded up for no reason.”
Missing local issues
Dr. Yogendra Singh, associate professor at KGK College, said this time the enthusiasm witnessed in voters in 2014 is missing. “Also, for the first time, I am observing that the local issues are being completely ignored. People are voting keeping in mind the national leaders.”
