Jobs, not cow vigilantism, is Mewat’s main worry

Gurgaon: On a muggy Monday morning in Mewat, a group of people sits around a hukka at Badhkali chowk — the district’s centre, where chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar held a rally two weeks ago. These elderly men — some of them from nearby villages — share their troubles as they smoke tobacco and ‘beat the heat’.
In a region notorious for the lynchings of Pehlu Khan and Rakbar Khan by cow vigilantes, the issues that concern the locals are of a very different nature. For many, it is the non-renewal of driving licences for illiterate truck drivers after the process going online. For others, it is the lack of basic facilities like drinking water and electricity. For many, it’s unemployment.

According to rough estimates, Mewat has a population of about 14 lakh (10.8 lakh as per the previous census). Locals say more than 60% of the people here are truck drivers. A chunk of this population is illiterate or has only studied till primary school. Ever since the process of getting a licence shifted online, these people have found themselves helpless as an Aadhaar card or a Class 10 certificate is now required.

“I used to be a truck driver and now they ask for Class 10 certificate for the renewal (of licence). I am an illiterate person. How am I supposed to produce a certificate?” asks Shaukat Ali from Shamshabad village. He says that neither Congress nor BJP paid heed to their problems. He has four children and no means to educate them anymore, he adds.

TOI spoke to several people, most of whom said that if anyone bothers to take up this issue, they would win even without campaigning. The issue, however, has not found any mention in political speeches or campaigns.

Similarly, water shortage, power cuts and unemployment are the other major problems. On Monday, when TOI had visited the area, the residents complained that they had received power supply for only eight hours since Sunday.

The BJP government in the state has tried to address some of these issues in the last five years, but it’s far from Mewat’s first choice. Mewat, a Muslim-dominated area, has never been stronghold for the party. In 2014, when Rao Inderjit Singh won the Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat, only 54,000 of his 4.5 lakh votes came from Mewat. At his nomination rally last week, Mewat found many more mentions than Gurgaon.

In order to increase its vote share to a lakh, the party has been toiling hard. CM Khattar has visited the constituency 11 times in the last five years. BJP district chief Surender Arya says, “Our party has focused on actually implementing many schemes which had only been announced by the Congress government, and it has benefited the people.” He points out the rain well scheme, girls’ colleges and the Delhi-Mumbai corridor running through Mewat as some of the development works done by his party in the area.

The rain well water scheme has been a hit among the residents. Hajjo, a 50-year-old anganwadi worker from Punhana, says, “Ever since this well has been made, life has been much easier. There is never any shortage of water.”

However, in a Muslim stronghold, development alone may not tilt voters in favour of the ruling party. And hence, it has roped in many influencers from the community who are working toward changing the party’s ‘anti-Muslim’ image.

Chaudhary Aurangzeb Meo, chairman of the Haryana Haj Committee and a BJP member, is one such influencer. “There is a perception within the community that BJP is anti-Muslim but the party has done a lot of work in the area. Consequently, today, nobody criticises Manohar Lal Khattar in the area,” he says.

According to sources in Mewat, the BJP has substantially increased the strength of its party workers here. As of now, the party has about 12,000 active members in the district.

However, the work done by the party notwithstanding, there is growing disenchantment amongst people against BJP candidate and incumbent MP Rao Inderjit Singh. Despite their political inclinations, many people say they are disappointed with him. A common complaint is that he has not visited his constituency.

“In the last five years, he hasn’t been here even once. If someone goes to ask him for help, he first checks how many people from that village voted for him,” said Abdul, a 58-year-old farmer from Chokha Caha village.

Nasir (34), a tea shop owner in Malab village, says he isn’t voting for the BJP candidate. “I will cast my vote for BJP but not for Rao Inderjit Singh. The man deserves nothing but criticism. He has not been to Mewat more than twice in the last two years.”

Inderjit’s absence and his disconnect with the people is being exploited by his Congress opponent, Captain Ajay Singh Yadav, who is a regular at weddings, funerals and other social occasions here.

Inderjit is set to hold second rally in the district on Wednesday. However, it remains to be seen if the last-minute efforts by the ‘missing MP’ do anything at all for him or the party in Mewat.