“Ram milenge maryada se jeene mein, Ram milenge Hanuman ji ke seene mein…yeh desh Ram ka hai (You will find Ram by living a virtuous life, you will find Ram in Hanuman’s heart, this country is of Lord Ram),” says Congress’s Imran Masood to News18.
Masood hit the headlines in 2014 when he used the infamous “boti-boti” comment for Narendra Modi. But now Masood is singing “Ram Dhun” as he makes yet another attempt to win from the Saharanpur Lok Sabha seat, this time as the Congress-Samajwadi Party candidate. “This election is about rozi-roti (jobs-hunger),” Masood says. He is taking on his bete noire and former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Raghav Lakhanpal who has promised a massive victory.
Out of nearly 19 lakh voters in Saharanpur, about 6.8 lakh are Muslims. “Total votes are 19 lakh. If you subtract 6.8 lakh, we have 13 lakh votes…So what is the difficulty?” Lakhanpal told News18 while campaigning in Deoband on Tuesday, the first day of Navratri. BJP’s MLA from Deoband and UP minister Brijesh Singh added: “This election is 13 lakh versus 6.8 lakh…and the 13 lakh will win.”
Saharanpur puzzle
The ‘serial number one seat’ in Uttar Pradesh, Saharanpur, is known for close contests and has oscillated between the SP, BJP, and BSP for the last two decades. Lakhanpal of the BJP won it in 2014, but in 2019, the BSP candidate won the seat with SP and RLD’s support. The reason was 7 lakh Muslim voters and 3.8 lakh Dalit voters along with some Jats converging for the opposition alliance here. Masood then finished third behind Lakhanpal. Now, the BSP is solo and has a new candidate in Majid Ali.
Many locals in Saharanpur city are rooting for Lakhanpal. They say even some Muslims may vote for him as fruits of development have reached them too. A Muslim man in Deoband told News18 that he will vote for Modi as his business is secure and law and order is good. Most Muslims in Deoband are, however, rooting for Majid Ali. In a Saharanpur village about 30 km away, local Muslims were critical of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Majid Ali, saying the BSP was dividing Muslim votes and this would pave the way for a BJP win again here.
“The problem is Imran Masood never wins. He lost in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2022,” a group of Muslims said.
Masood riled by ‘misuse’ of Ram’s name
Masood told News18 that he is fighting a “rozi-roti ka chunav” while the BJP is trying to distract from real issues. “This country faces hunger and unemployment. When we speak of naujavan (youth), they speak of Pakistan. When we speak of kisan (farmers), they speak of Iran. Why don’t you speak of Hindustan?” Masood asked. He said the BSP was working in support of the BJP and hence Dalits would back him and sections of Rajputs are upset with the saffron party.
Masood seems riled By the slogan of some in the BJP that they have brought Lord Ram by building a temple in Ayodhya. “They say ‘Jo Ram ko laye hain, hum unko layenge’. Who are they to bring Ram? Ram is God…Can anyone bring him? Ram is a slogan of faith, Ram is a thirst of one’s mind. You will not find Ram in rounds of temples, you will find him in ‘Shabri ke ber’. Ram milenge maryada se jeene mein, Ram milenge Hanuman ke seene mein,” he said.
The Congress also said that to find Ram, a person should lead a principled life. The person will then find Ram in his or her own mind and won’t need to go find him. “Ram ko koi nahi la sakta hai, yeh desh ram ka hai. Ram ke desh mein jo aastha jo samman mere Hindu bhai ke mann mein hai, woh aastha wahi samman mere Musalman bhai ke mann mein hai (No one can bring Ram, this country is of Lord Ram. Just like Hindus, Muslims also have respect for Ram),” Masood said.
‘Masood and Majid Ali have no agenda’
While Masood claims people will make him victorious as they are “fearful of the fate of the Constitution”, BJP’s Raghav Lakhanpal says he will get a big victory with a margin of 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh votes. “Due to Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath’s governance models, people are supporting us even more. This will be a game-changing election. People like Masood and Majid Ali have no agenda. Politics should not be a business but a noble act to serve people…Not for changing parties and ideology every few months,” Lakhanpal told News18.
On the ground, Lakhanpal seems to be running a solid campaign with the majority community rooting for him after he lost by a narrow margin in 2019. With two Muslim candidates as Lakhanpal’s main opponents, the BJP is banking on the 13 lakh-strong majority community to do the trick as the Muslim vote is at risk of division. Saharanpur votes on April 19 in the first round of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections.
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