RAMPUR: Two things about Rampur, the erstwhile princely state of UP, are well known. The local greyhound, a combination of the Tazi breed and the English Greyhound and the ultra long Chakkus (knives), an inseparable part of any Bollywood thriller of the 1980-90’s.
While the Rampur greyhounds were trained to even kill lions in packs, the knives were a criminal’s delight. Both hurt.
As with its history, politics in Rampur constituency — as it prepares to vote in the Lok Sabha polls — revolves around hurt. BJP candidate and former big screen star Jaya Prada Nahata, an ex- protégé of Samajwadi Party candidate Azam Khan, has claimed hurt at the hands of Khan and has appealed for restoration of her honour as revenge. Khan, who fell foul with the Election Commission for use of unparliamentary language recently and copped a campaign ban for an indirect comment, allegedly against his rival, also speaks of hurt over his protégé going the saffron way and questions her political philosophy, which changed radically.
On paper, Khan is a clear winner in Rampur Parliamentary constituency, with half of the electorate hailing from the minority community. On the ground, however, problems in social amalgamation of the vote base of SP and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) threaten to undermine the alliance’s chance in the face of sharp polarization of communities.
Khan’s presence in the electoral fray itself is seen as reason enough for sharp polarization among the locals who argue that the ‘scale is even’ in the contest between the firebrand Muslim face of the SP and the BJP nominee.
Naseer Khan, 40, a transporter glued to his smartphone said, “Amar Singh’s (Independent Rajya Sabha MP) audio message has flooded people in Rampur constituency. He claims to be in an ICU in a hospital from where he’s appealing to the electorate to support Jaya Prada. Rampur boasts of a strong network of transporters, with distilleries, too, abounding in the constituency.
“Demand for trucks is low even as distilleries here cater to the demands of Indian made foreign liquor across Uttar Pradesh. Business has been down for a while,” said Khan, adding that the absence of local Congress veteran and ex-royal Noor Bano from the electoral fray would help SP win the seat hands down.Khan’s support staff on the truck, Vinod Kumar Yadav, however, disagrees.
“Yadavs in my village Chakarpur, with 500 voters, would be voting BJP. He did not divulge his reason for snapping off from the political affiliation of his caste with SP.
A little further, Sita Ram Yadav shed light on the current social churning.
“Elephant (BSP symbol) has now mounted a cycle (SP symbol), which is punctured. Here, poll is all about Hindus and Muslims. The minority community as a block is rooting for Azam Khan, forcing a counter polarization among Hindu castes,” Yadav said.
Apparently, reading the writing on the wall, Jaya Prada is paying obeisance at each temple in Rampur. She’s seeking support in her fight for restoration of her honour in the backdrop of alleged loose talk by Azam about her. The Congress has fielded former MLA Sanjay Kapoor to set up a triangular contest. Kapoor is popular among the youth and is expected to cut into BJP’s support base.
Khan had narrowly lost to BJP’s Nepal Singh in 2014, with Congress’ Noor Bano splitting the Muslim vote base. This time, the Muslim community has been seemingly galvanized for Khan.
Even as the Hindu-Muslim political divide appears sharp, the constituency boasts of contrasting social amity, demonstrating the all-round will to live with each other’s differences. The proof is in the form of Bhamraua Shiv temple ban in front of a 100 per cent Muslim village. City traders have undertaken a project for rejuvenation of the temple at an estimated cost of `100 crore.
“After the Babri mosque was demolished, Muslims from other villages had surrounded this temple. However, Muslims of this village defended the shrine. They set up shops during Shravan (a ritual between July and August) when devotees offer Ganga water to Shivalinga,” Bilesh Kumar Sharma, the priest, said.