PM’s name the main attraction for voters in these constituencies.
Noida and Ghaziabad: As the Prime Minister towers over his political rivals, remote pockets of Jhajhar, Jewar, Muradnagar and Bisada are in a state of “Modi euphoria”. These pockets happen to be in the Lok Sabha constituencies of Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh and go to polls on Thursday, 11 April, when the first phase of Lok Sabha elections are held.
The two NCR cities of Ghaziabad and Noida are part of these two constituencies, respectively. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the only person that matters to the people in these two largely urban constituencies, with some rural pockets.
As a resident of Jhajhar told this newspaper, “We will vote for Modi, no doubt about that. He has worked really hard for the country. Our full support is for the “kamal ka phool.” Even as villagers complain that ministers have not come anywhere in the vicinity of their villages, they will still cast their votes for Bharatiya Janata Party because it is “Modi’s party.” The ministers with whom they have complaints are V.K. Singh (Ghaziabad) and Mahesh Sharma (Gautam Budh Nagar), the sitting MPs.
The Mahagathbandhan of Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded an SP candidate in Ghaziabad and a BSP candidate in Gautam Budh Nagar.
But Manoj Sharma, a BJP worker in Ghaziabad’s Muradnagar is confident that his party is going to win twice the amount of votes this year. “V.K. Singh will win more votes than 2014. Congress has released an anti-nation manifesto. And the people of the country will give them their answer in this upcoming election,” he said.
When asked whether the gathbandhan would be a threat to BJP, Sharma said that the alliance had in turn benefited the BJP. “The truth is not all SP supporters will go for BSP and vice-versa. Workers from these two political parties cannot stand each other. So their alliance has divided their voters, which will help BJP.”
However, SP-BSP coordinator Harish Chandra Goriya asserted that there was no such problem on the ground. “The response we are getting from people is good and the tie-up between the two parties has been a tremendous success.” He then went on to bash BJP’s sitting MP V.K. Singh: “He has not even visited this constituency in the past five years, but during elections he is conducting rallies and asking for votes. How can a person become so arrogant after winning that he does not bother to show his face?”
No one is talking about the Congress in these two seats, but the party says it is confident that their Ghaziabad candidate Dolly Sharma, “who stood up for justice, is educated and can connect with the youth” has a “fair chance” of winning the seat.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Omkarnath, a resident of Muradnagar, who is a retired officer hailed his support for the Prime Minister and said, “I will vote for Modi because he has kept the country together. The party never discriminates, but there are a few people who try to paint BJP in a bad light.”
However, Deepak, a potter belonging to Harola village said that most of his family members are living on footpath from the past 32 years, and their condition has not changed.
“We have Aadhaar Card and we cast our vote every time but we haven’t received any benefits from the government. We don’t even have our ration card despite applying for it four years ago,” he said.
At the same time, he added that his vote will go to Modi as they have “faith in him.”
Dharmendra, a resident of Bisada village in Dadri praised Modi and added that there is still a need for change in the country. He also said there no basic amenities in this village and added, “In our Bisada village we don’t have access to the basic medical and education facilities. We have to go to Dadri for medical emergencies.”
Women in these villages were not ready to come forward and replied that they will pick whoever their husbands vote for .
Local consensus is that crime has decreased from the time when Akhilesh Yadav’s SP held their sway these parts. In fact, this newspaper found even members of the Muslim community speaking about this. Speaking to the The Sunday Guardian, a shop owner in Muradnagar, Aas Mohammad said the crime rate since SP’s reign had come down. “We are going to vote for Modi because he has brought about change. Educated Muslims will go towards BJP. It is only the uneducated who would go for Akhilesh,” he said.
Residents of Harola in Noida said women could not even step out of their homes during SP’s time. “Things have really changed since Mahesh Sharma has become MP.”
Monica Sharma, a resident of Harola said earlier she was unsure about sending her daughter out. “My daughter is now studying in a good college. She goes out at night. This has happened with the change in government in the state, from SP to BJP.”
Echoing similar sentiments residents of Ghaziabad too applauded the improvement in the law and order situation.
“Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken strict action against gangsters. Earlier there used to be hooliganism, which has now come under control. We will vote for Modi because we know that he can make India a great nation,” said Sunil Kumar, a teacher in a government school in Ghaziabad.
People’s support comes in the wake of improved education and law and order situation where they say the government has focused on important issues. Of course there are pockets of trouble, such as Muradnagar in Ghaziabad, where complaints abound of theft, a “disinterested” police and insufficient streetlights.
The urban belts of these two seats, with a high concentration of voter population, are likely to be the deciding factors in these elections.
Sitting under a hot sun, Mahendar Jattan, who sells vegetables on the Ghaziabad-Muradnagar road said that he is positive that Modi government is going to come back.
“Even though I belong to the Jatav community, I support Modi, for he has worked for the country,” he said.
Criticising BSP leader Mayawati, Mahendar said that she has manipulated the people and played politics in the name of caste. “No development took place during her reign. If not much, but things have changed under this government,” he added.
But Jatav votes, in general, are staying with Mayawati. While the Yadav voters did not appear very happy about SP’s alliance with BSP.
People are also appreciating the current government’s work in Jewar where all formalities for an international airport have been completed. “No one could believe that an airport could be constructed in Jewar. Mahesh Sharma has worked hard to provide air connectivity. This is going to be the biggest airport in India,” said Ajay Sharma, Chief Finance Officer at Kailash Hospital, who is overseeing Mahesh Sharma’s campaign.