A Jatav by caste, Chandan’s family is into agriculture and grows wheat, bajra and maize – the region’s main crops. Chandan dropped out of his B.Sc. and started working in the restaurant as he saw no future after graduation. “Raashan aur bhasan (rations and speeches). This defines this government,” said Chandan, who had voted for BJP in 2019 but has decided to vote for BSP this time.
His dismissive comment caused Mahavir Rajput and Rahul Prajapati to grin, but they insisted that Modi is best for India. Rajput is a thakur and Prajapati a Kumhar, a caste traditionally associated with pottery. Both these castes are believed to have voted overwhelmingly for BJP in the past two elections.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Vinit Mishra and Arun Mishra – farmer and trader in Ujhani, a town in the outskirts of Budaun city. “There seems to be no wave this time, but I will vote for BJP,” said Vinit. “What wave, there is a hurricane for BJP,” interrupted Arun even before Vinit could finish. “Modi ji has made India famous and today we are counted among the world’s leading economies,” he retorted. When asked what makes him vote for BJP, Arun cited an improved law and order situation. “The bulldozers are silent, but they will start roaring after the election,” he laughed.
The mood completely changes as one moves away from the city. “Last time, I voted for BJP, but this time all votes will go to SP,” said Umesh Kumar of Parsona village, which is located in the Sahaswan assembly segment of the Budaun Lok Sabha seat. When asked why he is not voting for BJP, Umesh, who is a Yadav by caste, didn’t give a clear answer. He said that there was a meeting (panchayat) organized by SP and all Yadavs have decided to vote for Aditya Yadav, the party’s candidate and Shivpal Yadav’s son. “Last time we also got influenced by the wave, but SP is our party,” said Jagdish of the same village. “There is a massive unemployment problem among the youth. They want jobs not free ration. Today there is a rally of Akhilesh Yadav. Look at the tractors and the crowd,” he added.
“Yadav bhi kabhi kabhi Hindutva ka maja le lete hain (sometimes the Yadavs get swayed by Hindutva politics). But the Muslims have always stood behind Akhilesh,” said Asif, who works as a medical representative and lives in Gunnaur. “It’s our party also and Muslims of this constituency have always voted for SP. Netaji (Mulayam) has also contested from here,” he added.
“Is baar takkar hai (this time will see a close contest),” said Krishna Murari, a Brahmin shopkeeper from the same place. Dilip Singh, who introduced himself as a Jatav Sikh disagreed. “Despite the Modi wave, the margin was very low in 2019 and SP can win from Budaun this time,” he added. In 2019, BJP won this seat by a margin of 18,454 votes. Singh said that many Jatavs of the market will vote for SP, but in villages the Jatavs will vote for BSP. “In the last election, BSP vote didn’t get transferred to SP. Many Jatavs voted for BJP. This time the vote will go to BSP.” He added. Nempal, a Jatav from Sarai Brahman village, nodded in affirmation. “I will not vote for SP. My vote will go to Behanjee,” he said.
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