In Bareilly, they find too few choices

In Royal Colony off Pilibhit bypass, a conversation is under way. A doctor says, “I think BSP is the best option. They have a core vote bank with Dalits and their candidate is a Brahmin. This will be an unbeatable…”

A lawyer interrupts, “Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan has announced support to BSP after initially supporting the Congress. If the Maulana is supporting the BSP, most Hindus will desert them.”

“I agree we cannot win this election alone. The SP has the only Muslim candidate (Ayesha Islam), we must consider them despite riots in Bareilly and… Muzaffarnagar,” says a colleague.

“The SP is not an option. Ayesha is a first-timer. She does not leave the car when she campaigns and grew up in Jeddah. Only the Ansaris will support her. Perhaps the Congress must be supported,” says the doctor.

A social worker interjects, “The Congress? The Congress? In the situation they are in?”

“Their candidate is the sitting MP, a Baniya and an established businessman. Maybe if he weans away votes…” says the lawyer.

Asked about the elusive consensus, the professor says, “We have been talking about this so-called tactical voting but it is not like Muslims are one homogenous mass that will vote for one party. The economically weaker sections seem to prefer the SP or the BSP, but the middle and upper classes stick with the Congress.”

A group of SP workers open a party office in Rabri Tola, with chants of praise for Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav.

A few hundred feet away, Kushnama is oblivious to all this. She lost her son Imran, 22, in clashes in 2012. Imran was the sole breadwinner for the family of seven and worked in the zari industry. Kushnama, 53, has to work again. “My husband is unwell and I had intended to help my other children do well in studies and find better jobs,” she said.

Imran had gone to fetch supplies to complete his zari work. On July 23, 2012, the first day of Ramzan, a Kanwaria procession veered past Gol Kamra Masjid in Shahbad. The Muslims asked the Kanwarias to lower the volume beacuse of the evening prayers, leading to the violence that left Imran, Farhan and a rickshaw-puller, Hira Lal, dead.

Curfew lasted 24 days. Mohammed Qadir, a mechanic, recalls, “My son suffered burn injuries and I tried to take him to a hospital. The roads were blocked. I went to an MLA’s henchman who refused help. I carried my son in my arms to hospital. After all this, I have no hope left, I just want to leave. This Hindu-Muslim tussle every few months is not good for anything.”

According to Pushpendu Sharma, the BJP’s city president, it was the SP that made the elections communal. “The SP wants to appease Muslims. We would like to ask them why Rashmi gets Rs 2,000 as scholarship and Razia gets Rs 20,000,” he said.

The lack of a consensus has ironically worried the BJP.

“Word has spread that Muslims are divided, which means it is either a cakewalk for BJP or trouble. If the Muslim vote does not consolidate, neither will the Hindu vote. Many supporters are so confident, they may not vote. We are in the lead but cannot get complacent,” said BJP Bareilly district president Rajkumar Sharma.