They were rivals till INLD picked up one

These words from the Big Brother evoked a deafening applause from the all-male crowd as chotta bhai Choudhary Mohommad Illiyas sat watching from the stage, in the comforting presence of Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and Kashmiri leader Farooq Abdullah.

Years back, a petty dispute is said to have triggered enmity between them. Villagers narrate tales of revenge that had even divided the Meo Muslims.

Illiyas uses histrionics to capitalise on the unity ferver. ‘‘I am a fool since I am the younger (to Shohaib) one. I surely have committed many wrongs,’’ Illiyas said, his voice choked. Then he took out one of his slippers and asked the crowd to ‘‘beat him with this’’ for all his past sins!

Explaining the drama, a young voter said, ‘‘ Only now can Illiyas hope of winning. Patching up with his brother has done him good. That’s a good sign for the Meos too.’’ Illiyas’s humility seemed to be his major strength.

Meo leaders would like you to believe that all four lakh (nearly one third of Faridabad’s) votes would go into Illiyas’s kitty. If things go fine, INLD hopes Illiyas would get a decisive edge over 13 others, including BJP’s sitting MP Ram Chander Benda and Avtar Singh Badana of the Congress, who may end up splitting all the urban votes between them.

Chautala’s choice of a Meo candidate is a calculated move. He seems to know Meos would treat elections as a prestige issue and vote en bloc. ‘‘It’s after 33 years that any political party has fielded a Meo as a candidate,’’ says Choudhary Fakir Khan, an elderly villager. ‘‘Now it’s our duty to ensure victory to Illiyas.’’ However, the rival BJP, after its break-up with the INLD, has set a cat among pigeons here by popping up Zakir Hussain, the son of a legendary Meo, to campaign againt INLD.

Conscious of the threat, Chautala tells the Meo gathering, ‘‘You caste your votes for your man whom I have given the ticket. I would take care of Zakir.’’