There are 1,719,011 voters in Kairana constituency, out of which Hindu voters are 11.19 lakh and Muslims are 6 lakh.
The memories of the exodus of around 350 Hindu families from Kairana following the 2013 riots in neighbouring Muzaffarnagar district and subsequent efforts by politicians to bridge the gap between the two communities are still fresh in the minds of voters. While many Muslim voters credit RLD for reducing the bitterness between the two communities, the party’s decision to tie-up with BJP has left many of them in a dilemma whether to support RLD-BJP alliance or not.
BJP is seeking votes on Kairana seat, won by its candidate Pradip Chaudhary in 2019, in the name of improved security and conducive conditions for development and trade.
During election rallies, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also been reminding voters of the constituency not to waste their precious vote by supporting any other party and bringing back an atmosphere of anarchy on the streets.
Ravi Kumar of village Kheri Karmu said it was not easy to forget issues like law and order.
“There was a time when we were afraid to go to our fields after 5 pm. Today, we can go out to work in the field even after dark. Even our agricultural implements are now safe in the farms and there is no threat of theft,” he said, adding that there is no issue of threats to Hindu families any more.
Kalinder Malik, a farm leader, said some of the key issues of voters in the constituency include delay in payment of pending dues of cane growers by sugar mills – projected to be around Rs 6,500 crore across western UP – and the damage caused to crops by stray cattle.
There are 17,19,011 voters in Kairana constituency out of which Hindu voters are 11.19 lakh and Muslim are 6 lakh. In 2019, BJP’s Pradeep Choudhary got 5,66,961 votes to beat Tabbasum Hassan of the SP who got 4,74,801 votes.
This time BJP has re-fielded Choudhary while SP has nominated Iqra Hassan, who has studied in London and has been active in politics, along with her MLA brother Nahid Hassan, in Kairana area for the past nine years. Apart from attracting voters from her community, she is trying to reach out to women.
BSP candidate Shreepal Rana is new to the seat and not considered to be a very strong candidate. However, the BSP’s ability to attract Dalit voters may impact the victory margin from the seat. As of now, the current fight appears to be between the BJP and the SP but with 11 other contestants in the fray the results may spring up a surprise of a narrow victory margin.
“Samman” or respect for farmers and visibility of the MP in the area are the other two issues that many voters of the constituency highlighted as their concern.
Jobs are a big concern for the youth in the region. The matter of paper leak in the police recruitment exam has left a feeling of resentment among the youth who wanted to join the service. Since 2018, police recruitments have come to a standstill and many of aspirants have lost the opportunity now due to growing older than the maximum age limit.
“RLD was earlier against the Agniveer scheme for Army recruitment. Now, we are waiting to see what will be done about it as Jayant Chaudhary has now supported the party whose government brought in the scheme,” said Samar Singh.
The community split in Kairana seat shows that Muslims among Gujjars and Thakurs may have a bearing on the final outcome. There are 1.75 lakh Jats in the constituency, making them the dominant community. Saini voters are about 1.20 lakh, Kashyap are 1.32 lakh, Hindu Gujjars are 1.30 lakh, Muslim Gujjars are 1.10 lakh, Brahmins are 60,000, Thakurs are 45,000, Vaishya are 56,000 and Dalits are 2.10 lakh.
Like in other parts of western UP, cane farmers in Kairana are also upset about their dues yet to be cleared by sugar mills. Sohanveer of Bhainswal village pointed to the Shamli sugar mill’s failure to clear Rs 210 crore dues of the 2023 crushing season.
Another area resident, Atul Singh, complained the polluted and untreated water from the sugar mill and Shamli town flows in drains passing through nearby villages, deteriorating the groundwater quality.