The candidates in Ghaziabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh are asking for vote in the name of development or the lack of it.
At a booth workers’ meeting at the BJP office in the posh Raj Nagar area of Ghaziabad, where his supporters are indulging in religious slogans, General (retd.) V.K. Singh, who is seeking re-election, says he is a fauji (army man) by caste and religion.
“In the Army, I was in the Rajput Regiment. Many people think that it comprises only Rajputs. The fact is it has a number of Brahmins, Gujars, and Muslims as well. The Rajput badge is just a symbol of pride,” says Gen. Singh.
With BJP legislators in all five Assembly constituencies in Ghaziabad, the party seems to have a head start.
“We are seeking votes on the basis of the development projects that we have brought to the city. From the extension of Delhi Metro's Red Line to the widening of NH-24, all the projects have been completed without delay,” says Ajay Sharma, secretary, western Uttar Pradesh unit, BJP.
Outsider tag
In a constituency that is known to favour the outsiders, in 2014 Gen. Singh decimated another heavyweight outsider, Raj Babbar, by a margin of over 5 lakh votes. But this time he is up against two feisty locals — SP-BSP-RLD combine's candidate Suresh Bansal and Congress' nominee Dolly Sharma. Sources say even in the local BJP unit there are many who see Gen. Singh as an outsider but his closeness to the central leadership ensured that he got the ticket.
While the BJP supporters swear by the development agenda of the Narendra Modi government, Suresh Bansal describes it as a “charade”. “Be it the expansion of the Metro network to Ghaziabad city or the construction of the elevated road that has cut down the travel time between Delhi and Ghaziabad significantly, both the projects were launched during the tenure of the Samajwadi Party government. I am raising the issue of joblessness, farm crises and the diminishing social amity in society,” says Mr. Bansal.
This January, to the surprise of many, Ghaziabad finished third in the country in terms of cleanliness and sanitation in rural areas in a survey carried out by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Mr. Bansal maintains that the cleanliness drive is limited to a few areas and it has made hawkers jobless. “Those who talk of Swachh Bharat should visit Sajwan Nagar, which is sitting on a mound of garbage,” he says.
‘New image’
A postgraduate with no criminal record, Mr. Bansal underlines that he fits into the new image that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is trying to build for his party.
For Mr. Bansal, who was a BSP MLA from Ghaziabad city from 2012-2017, the challenge lies in ensuring that the votes of the SP and the RLD get transferred to him. “It is not a worry. The voters will rise above the caste identity. We are working towards a bigger goal: saving democracy from an undeclared emergency.”
Mr. Bansal was given a ticket at the last moment in place of Surendra Munni, a Brahmin, apparently because the Congress has also fielded a Brahmin candidate, Dolly Sharma. An MBA degree holder, she is banking on young voters.
Minority concerns
A few metres down the Ambedkar Road is the Congress office where Haji Akhtar Chaudhary, a farmer from the Vijaynagar area and a staunch Congress supporter, is finding hard to concentrate on the inane speeches being made from the stage. “The BJP has one agenda: Sabka saath, muslamaan ka vinash. Issues like love jihad are being raised again,” he says.
Mr. Chaudhary is pained by the sudden closure of Haj House which was sealed for violating the norms of the National Green Tribunal.
He holds the Yogi Adityanath government responsible for it.
