Law and order situation has improved, say residents, but lack of infrastructure, job opportunities continues to bother them

“Except for development all other things happened in Kairana in the last five years,” said a resident when asked about the changes in the constituency since the 2014 general election.

Kairana, a crucial Lok Sabha seat in western Uttar Pradesh, witnessed a political shift following the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh in February 2018.

Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Tabassum Hasan won the seat in the by-election three months later by defeating Mriganka Singh, the daughter of Singh. Ms. Hasan was fielded as the joint candidate of the Opposition (SP, BSP, RLD, Congress). Between the two MPs, a lot changed on the political front in Kairana while the condition of the constituency remained the same.

The dilapidated state of Meerut-Karnal highway and the forgotten promise of a flyover on the highway are some of the grouses of the voters in Kairana who are no longer bothered about the claims of “Hindu exodus” that put the constituency in the national spotlight in 2016.

The Kairana Lok Sabha constituency comprises five Assembly seats — Kairana, Shamli, Thana Bhawan, Gangoh and Nakur. Except Kairana, that was won by the SP in the last Assembly election, the remaining seats were won by the BJP.

In the upcoming Lok Sabha election, the SP has fielded Ms. Hasan as the SP-BSP-RLD alliance candidate, while the BJP has nominated its Gangoh MLA Pradeep Chaudhary. Former MP Harendra Malik is the Congress candidate.

The Balakot effect

The Kairana Lok Sabha constituency is dominated by Muslims, Dalits and Jats. It has a total of 16.48 lakh voters out of which around five lakh are Muslims, three lakh are Dalits and 1.4 lakh are Jats.

Jag Mahender, a sugarcane farmer, said he is not happy with the work done by former BJP MP [Hukum Singh] but he will still vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi because “he ordered air strikes on Pakistan”.

Asked about the law and order situation in their area, he said: “Unlike the previous regime [Akhilesh Yadav government], there has been a lot of improvement on the law and order front. Now our daughters can roam freely without any fear. Even the families which left the city because of safety issues are coming back.”

When The Hindu asked farmers about pending payment issues between sugarcane growers and mill owners, they said it is much better now than during the former UPA government. “Even parents can’t keep all their children happy, how can Modiji satisfy everyone? The supply of sugarcane is much more than the demand of sugar mills and that creates payment delay issue. The farmers should explore other options of farming instead of depending on sugarcane only,” said Ajay Kashyap, owner of a jaggery processing unit. Not all are impressed with the work done by the BJP government.

“The BJP won the seat in 2014 on a fake narrative of development and jobs for youth and by 2018 they got exposed and lost the seat in the bypoll. We are going to vote for change. Tabassum is from Kairana and she is better aware of our problems rather than the BJP candidate [Mr. Chaudhary],” said Sunil Choudhary, a resident of Kairana.

No religion debate

Thanks to the mixed population in Kairana, political parties seem to have made a conscious choice to avoid any polarisation of votes in the constituency. Big political leaders are, in fact, refraining from campaigning in the city to avoid any debate on the issue.

Employment issues

“They [BJP] want the elections to get polarised but we are avoiding any situation that could lead to a Hindu versus Muslim issue. The BJP is trying hard but we are maintaining the balance. In the backdrop of the Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013, the Lok Sabha election in 2014 was polarised but this time we won’t let that happen,” said Mohammed Nazir, an RLD worker.

For the Muslims in the constituency, lack of employment opportunities is the biggest concern. Many Muslim families have left the city in search of better livelihood. “It is actually ‘Muslim exodus’ from Kairana in search of employment. Most Muslims in the city work in sugar cane fields and in the unorganised sector and are poorly paid. People are moving to Delhi and Haryana in search of better opportunities. There are no better schools and colleges in the city,” said Mohammad Asif, a resident.