Elections, so far, in Telangana have seen minimal communal polarisation but does not seem so if the mood of the voters in several parliamentary constituencies is any indication.
Surprisingly, key issues that used to be the core of the election campaign now seemed confined to two aspects — one is to seek votes showcasing the construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya and reaping the fruits of distribution of ‘Akshinthalu’ sent from the temple town ahead of the ‘Prana Pratishtha’ a few months ago.
Secondly, the fear of the BJP doing away with reservations for Muslims has created unease among the community so much that the consolidation of votes in several constituencies is likely to alter the expected outcome. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion at a rally in Zaheerabad that as long as he is alive, there would be no quota for Muslims has only upped their fears.
Another factor of concern is the talk everywhere about ‘amending the Constitution to suit the needs of the BJP’ is also causing concern. Leaders of all parties right from national to State-level are washing their dirty linen and not hesitating to rake up issues for communal polarisation.
If the BJP and Modi are seen as the protector of the majority community, the Congress is trying to be the Messiah of the Minorities, particularly Muslims. The BRS is caught between the Saffron brigade and the Congress party’s aggressive outreach to the Muslims.
If it is the talk of the need to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister yet again for his ‘‘towering” global image and making India a strong nation, which is being fancied by the majority community, voters in several parts of the State, fear of tougher times for the minority community in the days to come as is quite visible in many constituencies.
“Our MP Bandi Sanjay of the BJP has not visited Sircilla constituency in many years, but voters want Modi to continue. Rather than the candidate we are looking at Modi in this election,” said Bhaskar, a petty vendor in Rajanna-Sircilla district.
Moving to Adilabad Lok Sabha constituency, the saffron flags that are fluttering is considered as an indication of the household preference for the party. “We received ‘Akshintalu’ before the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Pran Prathistha, which we never dreamt. As a gratitude people are bound to vote for the BJP as it is because of them that we could receive the sacred rice though this is a remote place,” said Sudhakar in Nirmal town.
BJP leaders are confident that the tribal voters in Adilabad LS would back the party. “They greet you with ’Ram Ram’, which shows their reverence for Lord Rama,” pointed out resident S. Harpal Singh, who has extensively covered the tribal areas for over three decades. “The RSS and its frontal organisations have taken deep roots in the interior tribals areas and they are bound to impact the elections,” he observed.
In the communally sensitive Bhainsa of Adilabad parliamentary constituency, the divide is loud and clear; polarization is complete. Try to ask the locals, suspicious looks give way to some relief once they realise that journalists are on a tour to assess the election mood.
Without identifying themselves, the people drop hints as to which way the wind is blowing. “The fight now is between Congress and BJP. People are seeing Modi as their candidate everywhere, the local MP nominee is irrelevant. Congress will pamper Muslims,” asserted a provision store owner near Bhainsa bus stand, not wishing to divulge his name.
In Nizamabad constituency with a sizeable Muslim population, the hot discussion is will the Modi government do away with reservations for Muslims. “Kya saab, Modi reservation utha deta kya (Will Modi remove the reservations),” asked Md Ibrahim, a petty mechanic, who overheard a discussion between journalists and a local Congress leader during a padayatra in Nizamabad town.
TPCC working president and MLC B. Mahesh Kumar Goud confirmed that the talk of BJP doing away with Muslim reservations was on top of party’s agenda.
In Kamareddy of Zaheerabad LS constituency, BJP’s graph is on the upswing ever since local leader Venkataramana Reddy, defeated then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and Congress CM aspirant A. Revanth Reddy during the Assembly elections in November.
In a single stroke, he had turned the fortunes for the Saffron party in the constituency. Now he has turned the torch bearer for the party in the parliamentary segment and his popularity is quite visible in the constituency with several dozens of youths independently campaigning extensively for the party candidate.
During interaction with one such group on the Dichpally-Kamareddy NH- 44, the common refrain is to vote for BJP seeing the face of Modi. “If you want to live safely in this country, Modi alone can guarantee it,” Neeradi Sailu, sporting a saffron scarf, one among the group, pointed out.
