A pocket-sized photograph of BR Ambedkar (Babasaheb) hangs on a makeshift tarpaulin "wall" of a tea stall that Laxmi, 33, and her husband, Rajan Kumar, 37, run in Najibabad town of Bijnor district in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Laxmi, who complains of not having a ration card, has been following the goings-on at a hotel named 'Najeeb Darbar' across the street where renegade leader Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan's Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) has set up a temporary office.
The four-year-old party was to contest its first Lok Sabha elections from Nagina constituency on April 19. "This time we have two contenders fighting for the legacy of Babasaheb," Kumar says with a laugh, a week ahead of the polls. While Azad is one, the other is Akash Anand, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's lesser-known uttaradhikari (successor). Pointing at her own steeping kettle as she brews a fresh batch of tea, Laxmi says, "The ketlee (kettle, Azad's party symbol) seems to be ahead of the haathi (elephant, BSP's party symbol)." Hurtling between rallies, Azad said that choosing Nagina was not a strategic move.
"We are contesting elections on a minuscule budget. I wanted to contest the elections from any constituency. The party decided to field me from Nagina and I accepted," says Azad. The political eminence of Nagina, however, may not be lost on him.
Carved out of Bijnor Lok Sabha constituency in 2009, Nagina is significant in many ways-it is a reserved seat with a majority Muslim population followed by Dalits. The constituency has become a prestige battle for Mayawati. It was from Bijnor that the fiery leader, from the historically oppressed Chamar or Jatav community, burst into India's electoral politics, winning the 1989 Lok Sabha polls and altering the political landscape of UP, a state with the highest Dalit population (21.1 per cent) in the country. Now, the veteran seems to be relying on her successor-the London-returned MBA and her nephew Anand.
Esta historia es de la edición May 01, 2024 de Outlook.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición May 01, 2024 de Outlook.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
The 'Invisible' Dalits
The debate over sub-categorisation of castes is likely to shape the political discourse in the upcoming state elections
Caste Census: To Conquer Or Conserve?
The caste census is generating heated debate, but even its most ardent proponents are not able to articulate a plan about how to use the resulting data
THE FATEFUL COMEDY
Actor-director Rajat Kapoor talks about adapting Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov into a Hindi play
Mad Hatter
When a leader takes off his topi and holds it in his hands while appealing for votes, it signals something extraordinary
Circle Within Circles
The caste question in Muslims.
Backward March
The Maratha reservation question may continue to mire the next government in the state
The 69% Exception
Quota within quota: lessons to be learned from Tamil Nadu
United Indifference
The perils of tweaking tribal identities
Two Nations, Two Destinies
The widely differing balance of power between the military and civilian leadership in India and Pakistan has significantly impacted democracy in the two countries
Crème de la Crème
The mainstream society thinks reservations are against right to equality. It’s high time they are seen in the context of right to justice.