Nagpur: Among some of Maharashtra’s prestigious and unpredictable parliamentary seats is Nagpur, the second capital of the state, which happens to be situated in the exact centre of the Indian peninsula.
While Nagpur, also known as the Orange City, cannot be compared to the intensity and vibrance of Mumbai or the vivacity of Pune, it is nevertheless the third most populous and emerging metropolis with a cosmopolitan population. Politically speaking it has all the contradictions one can think of.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the right wing Hindu volunteer organization founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925 has its headquarters here and therefore one would assume its influence would extend to the electorate going for the Bharatiya Janata Party as its choice. On the contrary this is a Congress stronghold where 550,000 Dalit and Muslim voters out of a 1.85 million electorate have backed this grand old party election after election. A senior local journalist commented, “There are voters who do not even think about their Congress candidate Vilas Muttemwar who has won from Nagpur on seven occasions between 1980-2009; but this segment, mostly from the most economically backward communities, just vote for the Congress symbol—the hand.”
Whether the Congress has done anything significant for them is a moot point but their voting pattern is driven by insecurity and a sense of being lost in the wilderness of politics. The Dalits continue to consider the Congress their formidable support though Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party, founded by a Dalit, manages to have a sizable Dalit vote share.
The rest of the 1.3 million voters form Nagpur’s linguistic minorities — like the Telugus, Bengalis, who settled here when the Bengal Nagpur Railway, now the South Eastern Railway, was formed in 1887, Sindhis, Punjabis, Keralites, migrants from Madhya Pradesh and others. In addition are the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) constituting some 30 per cent of voters who despite being educated and economically well off have a 40-45 voting percentage during elections.
OBCs, including the Kunbi, Teli and Mali community, can play a major role in the politics of not just Nagpur but Vidarbha too for the BJP, particularly since Narendra Modi is an OBC. This could be a trump card for Modi who is from the Ghanchi community of Gujarat that is equivalent to Teli caste of northern India. The caste arithmetic, if played well, can be an advantage to the BJP. But as one Nagpurite commented, “Despite the optimism, it has to be seen whether election day, on April 10, is taken seriously and not as a holiday to take off to the nearby national parks for a picnic with family.”
Just when the BJP thought it is riding a high wave, not just a Modi wave, since its Nagpur candidate Nitin Gadkari has a good rapport with all communities, local Buddhist monks have issued indirect diktat to the Dalit Buddhists: vote for Congress. Surei Sasai, a Buddhist monk of Japanese origin, issued a statement that BJP has rewarded BJP municipal corporator from Nagpur who defiled a statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar statue a year ago. So, the question is why support the BJP?
Amidst these major parties is the entry of Aam Aadmi Party’s Anjali Damani who has a following with the educated and politically conscious population. Says political observer, “More than anything, her aim is to defeat BJP candidate, Gadkari, against who she has levelled several allegations.” It could be a tough going for all contestants in the field.
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Vilas Muttemwar, Congress candidate
Nagpur Vilas Muttemwar, 65, has successfully worked out the right combination to succeed at the hustings. As he himself puts it—he is an honest worker, has high credibility, very accessible and always available to the people. A seven-time MP from Nagpur and one term as MP of Chimur, this 2014 will be his 9th election.
Relaxing after a long morning of ‘padayatra’ and then a hearty lunch at home, he spoke to Gulf News on his 35-year-old political career of being a ‘humble worker’ coupled with the Congress ideology that gave him a win-win situation. “There is not a single allegation against me. On the other hand, you know how Gadkari is facing all those charges,” he says. Would he consider him a challenge? “What challenge?” he sits up and asks. “People are very clever. They know what is fact. Also, I don’t think there is a Modi wave. There is a tremendous response from people when I go on my padayatra covering 24 kms a day. That is a sign of winning.”
He dismisses people’s anger against price rise and corruption during the UPA government’s tenure and whether it would have an impact on his chances of winning. “No, no. That is their strategy to hurl allegations against the government. No one has gone to jail. Investigations are going and no proof has been found. What about Bofors? They made allegations against Rajiv Gandhi, yet nothing could come out. Though they were in power they could not find anything against Rajiv Gandhi. Here in Nagpur, Gadkari himself is facing so many charges. He has to argue his case. The BJP says it is against corruption. What about its own candidates? What about Yedurappa? Public perception is important.”
The Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate “can sabotage our votes. I don’t know whether it will harm us or the BJP.”
The veteran Congressman confidently talks of the contributions made towards Nagpur’s development—of initiating the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport (MIHAN), the Gosikhurd irrigation project that will provide water to one million acres, the Metro for Nagpur among other things.”I have brought Rs 40 billion worth of development projects to Nagpur which is now one of the top 10 cities,” he says. His detractors, on the other hand, scoff at the MIHAN project which many call is just an open arid land with only promises on paper. But Muttemwar insists that big companies like Infosys and Microsoft are planning to set up centres here. “MIHAN is at a take off stage,” he adds.
Another feather in his cap is, “I have also drafted the Food Security Act.”
Interestingly, he has been intermittently canvassing with the Centre to make Nagpur the second capital of the country, particularly after it faced a terror attack. It is a safe city on all fronts, he believes.
On the farmers’ suicides in Vidarbha, he thinks, “It is unfortunate that no particular solution has been found to prevent these suicides. Most of these suicides are in the western part of Vidarbha. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released a Rs 42 billion package as relief to farmers.”
