Ground Report: In west UP, ‘crackdown’ on Opp parties a concern, but no reason not to vote for BJP

During a lengthy political debate outside a private sugar mill in Muzaffarnagar’s Khatauli last Friday, sugarcane farmer Guddu Gujjar of Bahanpur village criticised the Narendra Modi government for inflation and the menace of “dangar (stray cattle)” that damage crops.

When asked about the agencies’ action against Opposition leaders, Gujjar said the government was taking action against everyone who speaks against it. “The government is using agencies like the ED with the same outlook: jiski laathi, uski bhains (he who wields the cane, owns the buffalo). Had the ED been fair, it would have taken action against some BJP leaders too. Are all BJP leaders innocent? There are BJP leaders here who had nothing before 2017, but own land and SUVs today.”

Vinod Saini, who runs a shop selling mini harvesters just outside the sugar mill, wondered why the agencies did not act against the Opposition leaders in the past 10 years. “By grilling these leaders in corruption cases just before the elections, the BJP is trying to cripple the Opposition. It wants to finish all alternatives. Tanashahi ho rahi hai (This is dictatorial),” said Saini, a BJP supporter.

This area of Khatauli has a sizable population of the OBC communities like Sainis and Jats besides Muslims and Dalits. The BJP had won the Khatauli Assembly seat in 2017 and 2022, with its OBC leader Vikram Singh Saini defeating the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)’s Rajpal Singh Saini in 2022. But after Vikram was convicted in a case related to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots and disqualified in November 2022, the seat went for a bypoll in December 2022, in which the RLD’s Madan Bhaiyya defeated the BJP candidate, Vikram’s wife Rajkumari, by 22,143 votes.

The RLD, which has its support base across Western UP, crossed over from the INDIA bloc to the BJP-led NDA in February this year, giving it a shot in the arm in the elections.

In Kawal village, which falls under Muzaffarnagar district but is part of the Bijnor Lok Sabha constituency, farmer Krishnapal Saini, speaking about the arrests of Opposition leaders, said, “Jo galti karega, wo bharega (he who does wrong, will have to pay the price). There should be no sympathy for this. But action should also be taken against the corrupt within the BJP. Corruption is prevalent at every level of the local government, but there are no raids on the offices here. No minister or MP inspects any office,” he rued.

Kawal is where the killing of three youths in 2013 — two Jats, Sachin and Gaurav, and a Muslim, Shahnawaz — had led to widespread riots across Muzaffarnagar, in which 62 people died and over 50,000 were displaced. Sachin and Gaurav lived in Malikpura, a majra (part) of Kawal village that falls under the Meerapur Assembly constituency. This time, Meerapur RLD MLA Chandan Chaudhan is the NDA candidate in Bijnor Lok Sabha seat.

In Jat-dominated Rathur village of Jansath town, located across the Hapur-Bareilly highway from Kawal, farmer Virendra Singh Ahlawat, a Jat, said Muzaffarnagar had a “dark image” before 2017, mainly due to poor law and order under the then SP government that had “given Muslims a free hand”. “Now, there is no eve-teasing in this village, and girls can safely go to schools. So I vote on law and order,” he said.

On the actions of the ED and the I-T department, he said such actions before elections were “unjust”, but it wasn’t enough for him to vote for a non-BJP candidate.
Rathur is a part of the Muzaffarnagar seat where Union minister Sanjeev Balyan is the BJP candidate against the SP’s former MP Harendra Singh Malik. Both are Jats. The BSP has fielded Dara Singh Prajapati, an OBC.

An RLD supporter Ahlawat would vote for the BJP candidate in Muzaffarnagar because of their alliance. His wife Somwati, a Modi fan, had voted for the RLD in 2014 and 2019 because of her husband’s preference. “But this time I’ll be able to vote for Modi,” said Somwati, whose software engineer son works in Kuwait.
Ahlawat’s friend Bhangeram Saini said the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) promised by the BJP is a “necessity”. He said restricting couples to two children was necessary to control “population imbalance”. “But UCC is not the reason why I’ll vote for the BJP. I’ll vote on local issues.”

Regarding the Opposition allegations about the BJP regarding electoral bonds, he said, “They are a means of taking donations. In the past too, ruling parties got the highest donation. What’s new in that?”

On the Congress’s promises for farmers in its “Nyay Patra”, he said the MSP was a concern for farmers. “But why did Congress not ensure MSP when it ruled for so many years. We sugarcane farmers are getting the price of the crop on time. I also get PM Kisan Samman Nidhi benefits and an old-age pension.”

Regarding the I-T raids on the Congress, Pradeep Karnwal, a Brahmin from Nagina town in Bijnor district, said, “The BJP is doing manmarzi (highhandedness). How will Congress campaign if it can’t use the money deposited in bank accounts? This shows that either the BJP wants to finish off the Opposition completely — which is not good for democracy, or the ruling party is apprehensive of losing seats this time. The Congress, SP and AAP are raising such issues by giving a call to ‘protect democracy’. But such issues alone are not enough to vote for or against any party. Those who vote for the BJP, the SP, BSP, etc, will vote on caste and religion.”

Regarding Kejriwal’s arrest, Mohammad Naim in Moradabad’s Kanth area said the Delhi CM and the AAP were gaining popularity nationwide, even in Western UP.

“The arrest of key AAP leaders has disturbed the momentum of the INDIA bloc. So actions against Opposition leaders appear to be strategic moves of the BJP.

People think about these issues, but they ultimately vote on caste, religion and benefits they are getting from the government. For example, even some Muslims support the BJP because they fear that if the BJP loses, the new government may discontinue schemes like free rations for the poor. Getting free meals in times of inflation is a big relief.”

In the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections in west UP, eight seats — Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit — are going to the polls.