Hindutva, Congress' Legacy, Or '5 kg Anaaj' - What Will Prevail In Raebareli And Amethi?

Then, a name drops, and dhol beats rend the air. The seats fill; a crowd builds. Now there바카라�s no space to sit. So they stand바카라�near the stage, behind the chairs, on the wall바카라�and wait. Not long after, she arrives, wearing sneakers and salwar kameez. Everyone stands; many take their phones out바카라�restless to hear, clap, roar. Priyanka Gandhi? Nope, they react as if stirred by a storm, Priyanka Aandhi.

Indian voters usually reserve such a reception for a famous politician, but she바카라�s never fought an election. She바카라�s here, as always, to campaign for her brother, Rahul. Even though the stars no longer align for the Congress바카라�in the last election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 62 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 18 more than the former in the whole country바카라�one constituency continues to glow, Raebareli. It바카라�s supported the Congress for decades, ensuring at least one seat in the country where the sun never sets on India바카라�s grand old party.

Priyanka wastes no time. First: Modi바카라�s promise (바카라�2 crore jobs per year바카라�, 바카라�farmers earning double바카라�, 바카라�an end to corruption바카라�). Then: the sellout media owned by big corporations parroting his 바카라�achievements바카라�. 바카라�He바카라�s sold everything to them: the airports, ports, coal, roads, power바카라�all policies are made for them.바카라� She sharpens her criticism: unemployment, inflation, falsehoods (referencing the recent 바카라�mangalsutra바카라� claim). She unveils the Congress바카라� 바카라�guarantee바카라�: 바카라�Increasing the minimum wage to Rs 400 per day, filling 30 lakh government jobs, relieving the farmers바카라� debts바카라�바카라�and half-a-dozen more. The crowd applauds. When she promises, 바카라�A law for [exam] paper leak바카라�, a man says, 바카라�Bahut badhiya [wonderful].바카라� Unlike most leaders, Gandhi neither deifies nor patronises her audience. She just talks to them바카라�sometimes chides them. 바카라�They바카라�re asking for votes in the name of religion바카라�you바카라�ve spoiled their habit.바카라�

The Congress party has a Shah Rukh Khan-like effect on the people of Raebareli. When asked what it바카라�s done for them, several of them pause and smile, as if to say, 바카라�What a thing to ask.바카라� Spread across different villages, they underscore the same reasons바카라�바카라�Rail Coach [factory], AIIMS hospital, [Sharda] canal, NTPC [power plant], a bridge over Ganga-ji바카라�, and on and on바카라�expressing their gratitude: 바카라�Whatever we바카라�ve in Raebareli, it바카라�s because of the Congress.바카라� Some estimate the party바카라�s chances in the coming election: 바카라�90%, 100%, 101%.바카라� If their reasons to support the Congress find a huge overlap, then so do their discontent with the BJP: 바카라�unemployment, inflation, paper leak바카라� and, by far the biggest, 바카라�stray animals바카라�바카라�such as cows and bulls바카라�invading their farms and destroying their crops.

The last nuisance gives the farmers literal sleepless nights, making them 바카라�chowkidars바카라� [guards]. The gaushalas, or cow sheds, don바카라�t help either (바카라�they take the animals in the afternoon only to let them loose in the night바카라�). Earlier, the farmers could sell their unproductive cattle, but that option no longer exists. Because cows are gau matas now, rife with political meanings. Yogi Adityanath바카라�s government tightened the screws in 2020 when, amending a 1955 Act, it banned the transport of 바카라�cow or its progeny바카라� for slaughter and increased the punishment for the convicts: a fine of Rs 100,000 to Rs 300,000 and imprisonment from one to seven years.

There바카라�s another beast, though, that can tilt the Raebareli elections. 바카라�Hindutva,바카라� says Jahnvi Patel in Bachhrawan, listing it as one of his reasons to choose the BJP. 바카라�Ram mandir. So many of our karsevaks were martyred for it.바카라� Ram Chandra Dubey, a BJP supporter since the 바카라�80s, likes the party바카라�s 바카라�siddhant바카라� (principles): the Ram Janmabhoomi, its 500-year history바카라�something 바카라�no party바카라� could rectify. 바카라�The BJP바카라�s wave is rising. It바카라�s not like the past where the Congress will win by a huge margin.바카라� From 2014 to 2019, the BJP increased its vote share in Raebareli from 21% to 38%. Congress바카라� dipped from 64% to 56%. 바카라�Bharat has gone to the next level under the BJP,바카라� says Raghvendra Singh in the Pakara Girafta village. 바카라�Ram mandir, Article 370, Ayushman card.바카라� He rubbishes concerns about inflation (바카라�people바카라�s salaries have also increased바카라�) and unemployment (바카라�it바카라�s existed for a long time, even during Congress rule바카라�).

Such ideological determination, though, doesn바카라�t come easy to all. At the BJP바카라�s nukkad sabha in Khagipur Sadwa, Subedar Singh says, 바카라�No matter how much they shout, Sonia Gandhi did all the major developments in Raebareli. They바카라�re lying that they built AIIMS.바카라� He also talks about the stray cattle바카라�and a ban on selling them바카라�ravaging his livelihood. He바카라�ll still choose the BJP though: 바카라�Dharam-karam ka lagaav [an attachment to religion].바카라�

Something has shifted in Raebareli for sure. Jaffar, 69, an egg-seller in Bela Khara village, felt it earlier this year. On the day of the Ram temple consecration, he says, a group of Hindus chanting Jai Shree Ram slogans wanted to enter a gully adjoining a mosque. The Muslims requested them to use a wider road. They disagreed. Some women lay on the ground blocking their entry. A scuffle erupted. Three days later, the cops arrested Jaffar. 바카라�I wasn바카라�t even there. I was here, at my gomti [shop], drinking chai with a retired soldier.바카라� He spent eight days in jail along with 16 other Muslims바카라�14 men, two women. 바카라�Should I be in jail at this age?바카라� Jaffar asks. 바카라�I wasn바카라�t even there, sir.바카라�

Unlike the BJP supporters who praise its welfare schemes, many consider them inadequate. 바카라�Five kg grains aren바카라�t enough to support my family of seven,바카라� says Ashok Kumar. 바카라�I also need to buy vegetables, dal, salt.바카라� Another farmer, refusing to be named, repeats the same reason. 바카라�The BJP government gives us five kg grains but causes harm worth 50 kilos,바카라� says Kallu Sahu in Sulakhiyapur village. He points out a bigger problem: stray animals. 바카라�It바카라�s good that they made Ram mandir. I바카라�m a Hindu as well. But by releasing cattle, they바카라�re killing us.바카라� Kumar, too, sees no contradiction between his Hindu beliefs and economic concerns. 바카라�I understand that cows are as sacred as mothers. But stray cattle often get no water or food바카라�canals and lakes have dried up바카라�so if they바카라�re dying on their own, then what can we do?바카라� Their population has swelled so much that even cow sheds can바카라�t keep바카라�or protect바카라�them. Right outside a gaushala in Bela Khara, several pits mark the barren land. So does the stifling rotten stench. It comes from a pit near the gate, where flies, insects, and maggots feast on decaying flesh: a dead cow whose left horn, still sturdy, silently screams hypocrisy and betrayal.

But there바카라�s at least one village in Raebareli whose residents can바카라�t sing the Congress바카라� paeans: Urwa, adopted by Sonia Gandhi in 2014. 바카라�No vikas has happened here,바카라� says shopkeeper Rajesh Kumar. 바카라�Neither drains nor sidewalks. The taps are damaged; people drink polluted water.바카라� His shop faces a field whose condition sums up the country바카라�s current political narrative: a beautiful temple in the centre, trash lining its periphery, and an indifferent famous politician. In Urwa, though, personal is not political. 바카라�Many here still support the Congress,바카라� says Kumar. He uses the word 바카라�chahat바카라�바카라�fondness바카라�several times. 바카라�It바카라�s this chahat that바카라�s the biggest problem.바카라�

In a house in the same lane, Rajmati sits on her haunches, repeating the same complaints: 바카라�No sidewalks, no water. We had hoped she바카라�d make our village glow, but nothing바카라�I mean, nothing바카라�has happened.바카라� Ten days before the election, she바카라�s certain about her choice. 바카라�If she [Sonia Gandhi] wins, we바카라�ll be glad.바카라� Rajmati explains her apparent dissonance: 바카라�If she has no pakad [hold]바카라�바카라�a government at the centre바카라�바카라�then what can that bechari do? I don바카라�t blame her entirely. Saath toh denge [I바카라�ll still support her]. Because I understand her situation. She바카라�s just like me: helpless.바카라�

Around 90 minutes from Raebareli lies another Congress bastion, Amethi, where Rahul Gandhi lost to Smriti Irani in 2019. Shielding the scion, the Congress has chosen a veteran party coordinator, Kishori Lal Sharma, who has never fought an election. At a nukkad sabha in Bhimi, Sharma speaks in a soft tone, sometimes slips into self-deprecating humour. He glances at a sheet of paper, more than once, to collect his thoughts. He says, as if it wasn바카라�t already clear, 바카라�I바카라�m not an expert orator.바카라� His speech trundles and rambles바카라�staying in the 바카라�80s for 20 long minutes바카라�as the audiences tune out: they look at their phones, chat among themselves, smoke beedis. His next talk in Balipur Hudiya is as listless. And this continues, as this misfit flits from one village to the other: a gentle man in a cruel world, an art-house subplot in a Bollywood potboiler.

Irani, on the other hand, flings rhetorical questions. 바카라�How many of you took the Corona vaccine given by Modi-ji?바카라� She asks in Mudupur. 바카라�So if Modi-ji saved lives then who should get the vote?바카라� Next: 바카라�Since Corona, how many of you have got free ration? Now if Modi-ji gave ration, then who should get the vote?바카라� Cut to: 바카라�Do you get Rs 6,000 per year under the Kisan Samman Nidhi? Modi-ji says if you press kamal ka button on May 20, you바카라�ll keep getting Rs 6,000.바카라�

She segues to a literal handout: 바카라�How many of you got prasad for the Ram mandir? No one refused it, right? But the Congress party did바카라�did it not?바카라� She goes on: how the Congress wants to undo the Ram temple decision, how it wants to 바카라�purify바카라� it. 바카라�I dare the Congress party to touch the flag in Hanuman Gadhi in Gauriganj.바카라� The crowd chants: 바카라�Jai Shree Ram. Jai Shree Ram.바카라� She accuses the 바카라�Congress바카라� goons바카라� of stopping the 바카라�bhaagwat ki katha바카라�, forbidding the devotees to ring the temple bell, and throwing Hanuman-ji바카라�s statue in the lake. 바카라�So I바카라�d say become democracy바카라�s Hanuman and burn the Congress바카라� Lanka.바카라� She leaves. The same script at the next nukkad sabha in Utelwa, Jagdishpur: welfare schemes, Hindu gods, Congress party바카라�not a word about what she바카라�s done as an MP over the last five years.

바카라�She hasn바카라�t done anything,바카라� says Sarvesh Singh. One-and-a-half months ago, Irani visited a school in his village, Pindoria, in the Amethi Vidhan Sabha unit. 바카라�We handed her a huge stack of complaints. She solved one or two and threw the rest into the garbage.바카라� He talks about the stray animals (바카라�it바카라�s a menace; the whole village is fed up바카라�). They don바카라�t just destroy crops바카라�he camps in his field till three in the night바카라�but also kill pedestrians. Standing beside Singh, 17-year-old Aditya recounts two such deaths (just like several locals in the town). 바카라�It바카라�s not like I oppose the BJP,바카라� says Singh. 바카라�It바카라�s great that you stopped the killing of cows. But aren바카라�t people more important than animals?바카라� He likes the BJP, not Irani. 바카라�Had Priyanka or Rahul Gandhi contested from here, it바카라�d have been a one-sided contest.바카라�

Calling the handouts 바카라�lollypop바카라�, Singh highlights rampant unemployment exacerbated by the constant 바카라�paper leak바카라�. But, as usual, the BJP has a cheat code. 바카라�Those who oppose the Sanatan Dharma바카라�the Ram mandir바카라�are anti-national,바카라� he says. The Pindoria villagers, he adds, would choose the BJP for just one reason: Hindutva. Ram Pher Singh, 75, voted for the BJP in the 2014 and 2019 elections because of 바카라�the Ram mandir, Modi and Yogi바카라�. But now, he reels off his own discontents: the closure of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, the lack of medicines in the government hospital and, the one that enrages him, an unrepaired road in front of his house. 바카라�Modi and Yogi were good before, lekin ab tanashahi kar rahe hain [but now they바카라�re doing dictatorship].바카라� His voice drops, as if talking to himself: 바카라�Lekin ab tanashahi kar rahe hain.바카라�

In Benipur, where Muslims comprise the bulk of the population, several villagers refused to reveal their problems or names (including a young unemployed man). 바카라�See this boy sitting here,바카라� says one who finally spoke, Mohammad Akleem, 바카라�He바카라�s a graduate but unemployed.바카라� Akleem and a man opposite him, Nawaz Waris, echo the Pindoria villagers바카라� problems: an absent MP, paper leak, stray cattle. If Irani revels in her handouts, then her 바카라�subjects바카라� respond. 바카라�Do you think your five kg grains can buy us?바카라� Akleem asks. 바카라�You tripled our problems. And you bulldozed more houses than you gave under the Awas Yojana.바카라� Waris scoffs: 바카라�Sirf bhaukal-baaji [just show off].바카라�

They recount a recent incident바카라�very similar to Jaffar바카라�s. Last winter, when the Muslims read namaz in the Ibrahimpur village, the Hindus began chanting Jai Shree Ram. 바카라�The imam requested them to not shout, as it was namaz바카라�s time,바카라� says Waris. 바카라�But they started pelting the mosque.바카라� Then 바카라�vandalised a madrasa,바카라� says Akleem. The cops arrested over a dozen Muslims. If even Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi haven바카라�t been spared, adds Waris, 바카라�Then we, in their eyes, are no better than insects in a gutter.바카라�

Crippling unemployment and stray cattle have forced many locals to supplement their incomes by opening shops (such as Kumar in Raebareli and Waris in Benipur), but that, too, has its own hassles. 바카라�Because of the big online players [such as Amazon], small shopkeepers struggle to sell their goods,바카라� says Saurabh Gupta, an MSc graduate who, without a job, manages his parents바카라� store in Jagdishpur, around 50 km from Benipur. Promising tempting discounts, they바카라�ve reduced his daily earnings from around 바카라�Rs 500 to Rs 200바카라�. Ashfaq Ahmad, who owns a shop near the main road, suffers much higher losses. Because unlike Gupta, he and Jaffar share a unique problem: 바카라�Most Hindus no longer come to my shop. Earlier, 80% of my customers were Hindus바카라�now it바카라�s not more than 2%.바카라�

The complaints against Irani continue to mount in the Tiloi Vidhan Sabha unit. Sant Lal, an electrician: an absent MP, inflation, stray cattle. Aman Kumar, a second year BA student: an absent MP, inflation, unemployment, paper leak, 바카라�no good colleges바카라�. But Ram Chandra Singh, a retired Army professional, admires her work: 바카라�road, ration, light바카라�. Like Raghvendra in Raebareli, he dismisses the unemployment issue: 바카라�There are jobs. If you can바카라�t find them, then open a business. People who whine about jobs are just lazy.바카라�

Around 35 km from Tiloi lies a village in Gauriganj, Poore Hundaliyan, whose residents get triggered at the mere mention of a word바카라�the same word that deflates Rajmati and angers Ram Pher; a simple word, a basic need: 바카라�kharinja [side road]바카라�. A battered brick road languishes in front of Binod Kumar바카라�s house. 바카라�You can see what the BJP has done in the last 10 years.바카라� Less than a kilometre away, he says, Irani has built her house. 바카라�The whole village is of Brahmins. And they all support the BJP바카라�one-sided. But this time, it바카라�ll not get one vote.바카라� The kharinja has remained unrepaired for close to a decade. 바카라�We approached everyone: the Secretary, the ADO [Assistant Development Officer], the BDO [Block Development Officer], the CDO [Chief Development Officer], the pradhan, his representative. Application par application.바카라� When it rains, the lane floods. 바카라�We wade through this much water,바카라� Kumar points to his knees. Five years ago, his mother broke her leg. He had to transfer her to a different house because 바카라�no ambulance would come here바카라�.

As Kumar and his brother, Satyendra Tiwari, shoot their complaints, their neighbour, Lallan Tiwari, stops by on a bike. 바카라�The district headquarters is just a kilometre away,바카라� says Lallan. 바카라�The MP house 500 metres.바카라� In multiple nukkad sabhas in Raebareli, the BJP바카라�s candidate, Dinesh Pratap Singh, spoke about several new highways connecting the town. 바카라�We바카라�ll reach them only if we can leave our homes. Highway, four-way, Chaubey, six-way바카라�what바카라�s their use?바카라� Whenever they approach the pradhan for their kharinja, they get the same reply: 바카라�We don바카라�t have the budget.바카라�

Their anger boils and bursts, as they start slamming one government scheme after the other. First, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. 바카라�Come, I바카라�ll show you,바카라� says Satyendra. On the edge of a small field stands a booth, barely 8/10 feet. Lallan opens the door. Inside: a dusty floor and an 바카라�Indian바카라� toilet whose right foot is dislodged. Satyendra opens the door of another toilet right next to it: clean, spacious, white tiles. 바카라�The villagers made it themselves.바카라� He points to two more toilets opposite a kharinja: a government dump, an individual enterprise. These juxtapositions say something to Irani: Your charity, our dignity.

바카라�Come,바카라� says Lallan, 바카라�let me show you something else.바카라� A new kharinja. 바카라�We made it ourselves.바카라� A young man, Vijendra, who works in Nasik, highlights another scheme. 바카라�Kisan Samman Nidhi. I바카라�ve taken my babu-ji so many times to Vikas Bhawan for his payments. We got nothing for three to four years.바카라� Ashok Kumar바카라�s father in Raebareli, too, hadn바카라�t received his instalments in a long time. Lallan and Vijendra walk to a nearby house owned by an old, deaf woman. Vertical stacks of hay spread to the left and right of the small entrance. Its slanted roofs are made of clay and asbestos. A small tree juts out from a room inside. A bamboo pole runs from the roof to the floor in a different room. 바카라�See this support,바카라� says Vijendra. 바카라�If this falls, they바카라�ll be trapped.바카라�

Unlike the old woman, her neighbour got a 바카라�colony바카라�바카라�a house바카라�under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. 바카라�They had vyavastha [바카라�arrangement바카라�],바카라� says Kumar. 바카라�She has nothing.바카라� Vijendra explains: 바카라�Mithai바카라� [sweets]. 바카라�Earlier the money [for the Awas Yojana] came into the pradhan바카라�s account. Now it goes to the customer. But he says you바카라�ll get the amount only when you give me something under the table바카라�mithai.바카라� The kickbacks vary from 바카라�Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000바카라�, says Satyendra, for a Rs 1.5 lakh loan. A blue-collar worker, Dharmendra Kumar, had a simple question for Irani after her nukkad sabha in Mudupur. But he lost her in the crowd. 바카라�When I tried to get a loan for the Awas Yojana,바카라� he told me, 바카라�I found out my application would only be forwarded if I paid Rs 20,000.바카라�

바카라�I바카라�ll tell you something honestly,바카라� says Vijendra. 바카라�Hindus and Muslims have no problems with each other.바카라� He often visits the neighbouring village Misrauli for functions, which has a dominant Muslim population, and they come here. 바카라�They cook vegetarian food for us. We talk frankly.바카라� The main problem is something else. 바카라�The Pradhan is a Thakur,바카라� says Satyendra. 바카라�So is the Vidhayak. So is [Yogi] Baba.바카라� Satyendra, Kumar, Lallan, and Vijendra keep repeating one point: that Irani바카라�s house is so close and yet she hasn바카라�t peeped into their village, not even once. 바카라�She바카라�s making a highway near her house. We don바카라�t have a kharinja,바카라� says Lallan. 바카라�They바카라�re installing solar lights at every crossroad. For what?바카라� Seven-hundred metres, Vijendra repeats, the distance from his house to Irani바카라�s. 바카라�There바카라�s a proverb in dehaat bhaasha [rural lingo]: Chiraag tale andhera [darkness beneath light].바카라�

Tanul Thakur in Raibareli and Amethi

(This appeared in the print as 'A Tale Of Two Citadels')