Shivaji Sarkar
The voters here may have Narendra Modi in mind or not but the look to BJP’s candidate Gen Vijay Kumar Singh as alternative despite Samajwadi Party campaing of he being and outsider, Congress ptitting actor raj Babbar and Aaam Aadmi Party a not so well known journalist Shazia Ilmi.
There is a challenge from a less experience BSP candidate – Mukul Upadhyaya, a kin of former BSP minister in UP, Ramvir Upadhyay. Ramvir’s wife, Seema, is contesting from Hapur, a neighoburing constituency.
The General has caught some fancy. He is being seen as an upright person and courageous – as he challenged the government in a court of law while being in office and apparently people are reverent to his stature.
An added advantage is the training that his wife, Bharati, has as an army officer’s wife. She has for the major part of life has been heading Army Wives Welfare Associations, including at the national level. This has become handy for VK Singh. While Singh goes out every weekend to meet voters, Bharati meets the women at small kitty-party type tete-e-tete. Mostly attended by housewives, these meets draw some young girls too.
Two college-going girls, Puravi and Bhavana, in one such meeting at Vasundhara, an upcoming colony, say that they had come with their mothers to have a feel of the electoral process. Asked whether they would marry soldiers, they coyly answer, “Koi mile to”.
Bharati is striking the chord. She has chosen the women in a family as important unit to get to the heart of the men.
The men too are drawn by the general’s charm. A physiotherapist at a local nursing home, Sanat Sain, says in a candid manner, “I would vote for him. He is from the army. I adore the soldiers. I am sure he would be good for the constituency.
It is, however, not true that everybody is overwhelmed. Caste and creed play their role. Congress, BSP and SP are fanning these feelings. So the general being a Thakur is being shown as a disadvantage. The BJP claims that not only the previous MP and party president Rajnath Singh was a Thakur, the Congress candidate from neighbouring Noida, Ramesh Tomar, now back in BJP, also a Thakur, was BJP MP in 1998 amd 1999 from Ghaziabad. There is sizeable number of Thakurs in the area and most of them would be supporting the general, BJP claims Congress claims that Jats, Muslims and Dalits would support Babbar. Among the youth too he still remains a phenomenon. BJP says that the youth are solidly with the general and Muslims would not vote either for Congress or Samajwadi Party for inciting communal violence in Muzaffarnagar, less than 100 km from here.
Samajwadi Party candidate Sudan Rawat is also Thakur. He is however not a very well known personality despite being a local.
The BSP candidate Mukul Upadhyay is drawing crowds. He is banking on his kin’s influence in the area, the Brahmin and dalit voters. He at every public meeting boasts, “BJP president Rajnath Singh ran away from Ghaziabad fearing his defeat and is now contesting elections from Lucknow. The BJP has now fielded V K Singh, who is an outsider. By my win, I will bury the BJP.
His rivals agree on one point. He has been working hard for the last about a year, when BSP chief Mayawati announced his name. He has developed a connection. The BSP’s dalit and Brahmin voters could create problem for others. Even Muslims might shift to BSP as they are a bit alienated with Congress and SP.
It is a tough battle. The General cannot take it easy. But he has an image that could make the difference. The youth fancy for him. It will be interesting to watch Ghaziabad.