Rajnath Singh, General VK Singh, Raj Babbar – Ghaziabad Once upon a time drew stars from every sky and enjoyed the attention it received. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are different. This time, big companies have bypassed NCR, just like vehicles speed on the breathless expressway of this parliamentary constituency. Flags, posters and slogans are also missing on a large scale. But the absence of VIPs has its advantages.
Veterans campaign more about personalities than policies. Without title names, the focus and conversation is on the issues.
In Sahibabad’s cluttered vegetable and fruit mandi (wholesale market), with its smell of overripe fruits and rotting garbage, people talk less about it Candidate And more information about the concerns they face. But it appears that in these politically polarized times, voters have decided which party to vote for. And for some, pressing issues have not come in the way of their choices.
Carrying a small sack of watermelons on his shoulder in the summer heat, OBC Sachin Kumar Prajapati recounts a long list of grievances. He says, “Garib peesha kar raha hai” (the poor are being squeezed). He talks about the absence of electricity, high fees in private schools – “government schools are no good” – and, more importantly, the destruction of crops by cattle. “You have to take care of your crops from the day you sow them. If you go away for a day, it’s over.” he will still vote BJP, “I always have,” says the fruit seller in his 30s, without explaining why.
Rajneesh Kumar, a tradesman who sells cheese for a living, is happier than Prajapati. Among other things, he wants the BJP to win because he feels there should be coordination between MLAs and MPs. “And how do they coordinate?” Rajneesh reason. His caste matches that of BJP candidate Atul Garg (59). The current MLA of Ghaziabad Assembly has a good caste. vote Located in the densely populated old market of the city. Four other assembly constituencies of the seat (Loni, Muradnagar, Sahibabad and Dhaulana) had also voted saffron in 2017.
Businessman Garg is contesting against Congress’s 40-year-old Dolly Sharma. Like Garg, he is also a well-known name in local politics. In 2019, General VK Singh had retained the Ghaziabad seat for the BJP, winning by 5 lakh votes and polling around 62%. Sharma, an MBA and former mayoral candidate, was among his rivals contesting for the Congress. He got 1.1 lakh or just 7% votes. But this time, Sharma will get the synergy from the party’s alliance with SP, which had got around 4.5 lakh votes (29%) in 2019.
Located on the eastern edge of the national capital, Ghaziabad is a collection of places and people that have one foot in the past and the other in the present. As per 2011 data, the literacy rate is 78% (higher than the state average of 68), but the child sex ratio is 850 (lower than the state average of 902). The majority of the constituency is either rural or semi-urban, but voters in the suburban middle-class colonies of Indirapuram, Vasundhara, Vaishali will also be crucial to the outcome. 61 year old Pawan Sharma lives in one of these. The retired soldier says that his pension has increased from Rs 7,200 (2006) to Rs 38,000 (2024). “Why should I vote anywhere else?” says Brahmin Sharma. Brahmins, Muslims (25 in the district), Dalits (16.5%), Thakurs and Jats are numerically important.
Fruit trader Shamim (provides one name) says his world has gone from bad to worse. He talks about mass unemployment and how CAA and NRC have affected Muslim minds. “The government always keeps talking about bringing more and more laws. We are a little scared of the new laws,” says the 50-year-old fruit trader. He has objection to EVM. “When so many people have protested against him, why can’t we get back on the ballot?” A former SP voter, he plans to vote for Congress.
So does Shahid Ali Khan, who owns a medical store in nearby Maharajpur. Khan says that the country has become weak under Modi’s rule. “Health and education are zero,” he says. “If people still say, ‘Modi magic’, it is only because of the media.” He is optimistic about Dolly Sharma’s prospects.
In nearby Karkar, another store owner Mukesh Bharti and mason Satyavan, both Dalits, also plan to vote for the Congress. “Many people will vote for BSP. But some people like us want to get their votes counted,” says Bharti. Satyavan, a Valmiki, confirms.
Karkad is a Thakur dominated village. Home to the Rawals, Ranas, Gehlots and Chauhans, the village has a Rajput Dharamshala and a temple, where the Pran Pratistha was held on the same day as it was in Ayodhya. Sitting outside his grocery shop, Roop Singh Rawal lauded Modi for providing free ration to the poor, increasing Desh Das Samman (national pride), but more importantly, for the Ram Temple. He says, “No one else would have done this.” Mahesh Thakur, an electricity employee in Mandi, also has a similar opinion. “I am the lotus,” he declares.
In recent weeks, Rajput discontent with the BJP over denial of seats in western UP, especially to General VK Singh, and other issues related to community pride has become widely known. Rawal believes that community leaders do not have enough influence to convince the entire community. “The results will make that clear,” he says.
Veterans campaign more about personalities than policies. Without title names, the focus and conversation is on the issues.
In Sahibabad’s cluttered vegetable and fruit mandi (wholesale market), with its smell of overripe fruits and rotting garbage, people talk less about it Candidate And more information about the concerns they face. But it appears that in these politically polarized times, voters have decided which party to vote for. And for some, pressing issues have not come in the way of their choices.
Carrying a small sack of watermelons on his shoulder in the summer heat, OBC Sachin Kumar Prajapati recounts a long list of grievances. He says, “Garib peesha kar raha hai” (the poor are being squeezed). He talks about the absence of electricity, high fees in private schools – “government schools are no good” – and, more importantly, the destruction of crops by cattle. “You have to take care of your crops from the day you sow them. If you go away for a day, it’s over.” he will still vote BJP, “I always have,” says the fruit seller in his 30s, without explaining why.
Rajneesh Kumar, a tradesman who sells cheese for a living, is happier than Prajapati. Among other things, he wants the BJP to win because he feels there should be coordination between MLAs and MPs. “And how do they coordinate?” Rajneesh reason. His caste matches that of BJP candidate Atul Garg (59). The current MLA of Ghaziabad Assembly has a good caste. vote Located in the densely populated old market of the city. Four other assembly constituencies of the seat (Loni, Muradnagar, Sahibabad and Dhaulana) had also voted saffron in 2017.
Businessman Garg is contesting against Congress’s 40-year-old Dolly Sharma. Like Garg, he is also a well-known name in local politics. In 2019, General VK Singh had retained the Ghaziabad seat for the BJP, winning by 5 lakh votes and polling around 62%. Sharma, an MBA and former mayoral candidate, was among his rivals contesting for the Congress. He got 1.1 lakh or just 7% votes. But this time, Sharma will get the synergy from the party’s alliance with SP, which had got around 4.5 lakh votes (29%) in 2019.
Located on the eastern edge of the national capital, Ghaziabad is a collection of places and people that have one foot in the past and the other in the present. As per 2011 data, the literacy rate is 78% (higher than the state average of 68), but the child sex ratio is 850 (lower than the state average of 902). The majority of the constituency is either rural or semi-urban, but voters in the suburban middle-class colonies of Indirapuram, Vasundhara, Vaishali will also be crucial to the outcome. 61 year old Pawan Sharma lives in one of these. The retired soldier says that his pension has increased from Rs 7,200 (2006) to Rs 38,000 (2024). “Why should I vote anywhere else?” says Brahmin Sharma. Brahmins, Muslims (25 in the district), Dalits (16.5%), Thakurs and Jats are numerically important.
Fruit trader Shamim (provides one name) says his world has gone from bad to worse. He talks about mass unemployment and how CAA and NRC have affected Muslim minds. “The government always keeps talking about bringing more and more laws. We are a little scared of the new laws,” says the 50-year-old fruit trader. He has objection to EVM. “When so many people have protested against him, why can’t we get back on the ballot?” A former SP voter, he plans to vote for Congress.
So does Shahid Ali Khan, who owns a medical store in nearby Maharajpur. Khan says that the country has become weak under Modi’s rule. “Health and education are zero,” he says. “If people still say, ‘Modi magic’, it is only because of the media.” He is optimistic about Dolly Sharma’s prospects.
In nearby Karkar, another store owner Mukesh Bharti and mason Satyavan, both Dalits, also plan to vote for the Congress. “Many people will vote for BSP. But some people like us want to get their votes counted,” says Bharti. Satyavan, a Valmiki, confirms.
Karkad is a Thakur dominated village. Home to the Rawals, Ranas, Gehlots and Chauhans, the village has a Rajput Dharamshala and a temple, where the Pran Pratistha was held on the same day as it was in Ayodhya. Sitting outside his grocery shop, Roop Singh Rawal lauded Modi for providing free ration to the poor, increasing Desh Das Samman (national pride), but more importantly, for the Ram Temple. He says, “No one else would have done this.” Mahesh Thakur, an electricity employee in Mandi, also has a similar opinion. “I am the lotus,” he declares.
In recent weeks, Rajput discontent with the BJP over denial of seats in western UP, especially to General VK Singh, and other issues related to community pride has become widely known. Rawal believes that community leaders do not have enough influence to convince the entire community. “The results will make that clear,” he says.
