In Chhatarpur’s Angor village, Sonu Ahirwar remembers an evening final summer time when his good friend Monu Ganthal climbed atop a horse for his marriage ceremony.
“The Brahmins and Rajputs began protesting. Police got here to the village however even then Monu was not allowed to get on the horse,” Ahirwar, a 22-year-old farmer, stated. The village remained tense for a complete evening.
Finally, the groom, who was from a Scheduled Caste neighborhood, went with out the horse to his marriage ceremony.
In Chhatarpur district, house to the Bageshwar Dham temple and some of the backward districts in Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand area, incidents of such caste discrimination are legion.
The rising recognition of the Bageshwar Dham has worsened issues, say folks from the Different Backward Courses and the Dalit communities.
Shastri, the 27-year-old controversial head priest of the Bageshwar Dham, generally referred as Bageshwar baba, has known as for bulldozers to raze the properties of those that don’t consider in Sanatana Dharma or impede Lord Ram’s work, and the institution of a Hindu Rashtra.
However most worryingly, stated Umashankar Patel, spokesperson of the OBC Mahasabha in Chhatarpur, Shastri’s closeness with political leaders, from each the BJP and the Congress, has made the Brahmins extra assertive and hostile to the so-called decrease castes.
As Madhya Pradesh goes to ballot on November 17, in Chhatarpur no less than, this brewing anger may have an effect on the probabilities of upper-caste candidates.
For the Congress, whose chief and chief minister hopeful Kamal Nath has wooed sadhus and constructed statues to gods to blunt the Bharatiya Janata Get together’s strident Hindutva, Chhatarpur may characterize the boundaries of ‘mushy Hindutva’.
Whereas a number of voters throughout the state advised Scroll that Nath wouldn’t be capable to wean away the core Hindu base of the BJP, even Congress leaders fear that his public religiosity may hurt the occasion’s possibilities in Chhatarpur – particularly among the many OBCs.
In Madhya Pradesh, OBCs historically vote for the BJP, however anti-incumbency stays an overarching consider Chhatarpur.
For the Congress, the good thing about anti-incumbency might get barely marred by Kamal Nath’s closeness to Bageshwar Baba. “[His soft Hindutva] doesn’t simply damage Muslims, it additionally hurts the OBC,” Patel stated.
A Youth Congress chief from the district stated they’d warned Kamal Nath of simmering anger amongst the OBCs and suggested him to keep away from public gatherings with Shastri.
Whereas the BJP has organised his kathas, or sermons, in Sagar, Vidisha, and Bada Malhera, Nath has organised a three-day katha in Chhindwara and visited his temple in Chhatarpur.
Ahirwar stated the decrease castes have began to understand that the oppression and discrimination wants to finish. “Elections are a time once we can voice our opinion,” he stated. “Once they (higher castes) consider in untouchability, and take into account us beneath them, why ought to we vote for a Brahmin candidate?”
“This time OBCs will vote just for OBC candidates,” stated Umashankar Patel. “This was not the case in earlier elections.”
Even the Congress’s promise of the caste census has been met with scepticism over Nath’s intentions. “Rahul Gandhi has promised a caste census in MP, however Kamal Nath doesn’t appear so eager,” stated Umashankar Patel, from OBC Mahasabha. “We aren’t positive if they may fulfill this promise as soon as they arrive to energy.”
The OBCs stay upset with the Congress over its seat allocation. Of 230 seats, Congress has fielded 62 OBC candidates (27%) whereas BJP has given tickets to 71 candidates (30%).
Chhatarpur has six meeting segments. About 60% of its inhabitants are from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and OBC communities. Within the 2018 Meeting election, three Brahmin candidates, two from the Congress and one from the Samajwadi Get together, had gained seats in Bijawar, Chhatarpur, and Maharajpur.
The Congress had gained three seats, and one every was gained by the BJP and the SP. The sixth seat was gained by an Impartial candidate. Later, each the Impartial and SP legislators joined the BJP.
Pradeep Chaurasia, who’s the OBC Mahasabha state president, stated in seats the place the OBCs are in majority in Chhatarpur, a Brahmin candidate is more likely to face a troublesome combat this time.
On this Meeting election, each BJP and Congress have chosen two Brahmin candidates and two OBC candidates.
‘Discrimination in opposition to us’
In Angor, a part of the Bijawar meeting seat, Sonu Ahirwar stated individuals are afraid, however they do focus on caste atrocities in shut circles.
The seat was gained by a Samajwadi Get together candidate, Rajesh Shukla, in 2018.
“This time ‘pandit’ will vote for ‘pandit’, and OBC for OBC,” Ahirwar stated.
The Congress has named a Yadav candidate and the BJP a Brahmin in Bijawar.
“The narrative of Brahmin versus decrease caste has intensified because of Bageshwar Dham and statements by Shastri,” stated Lokendra Yadav, a Youth Congress member in Chhatarpur.
In Khajuraho, Neetendra Singh, who runs a journey company, stated the opposition to Brahmins has deepened after Khajuraho member of parliament VD Sharma was appointed as state BJP president. “He has overtly supported Brahmins,” Singh stated.
In villages, these from the decrease castes keep a guarded silence.
In Kauda village, two kilometres from the Bageshwar Dham temple, farmer Ramcharan Pal owns one acre of land and a kuchha home. He says not one of the authorities schemes have reached him. “The farm produce has suffered because of unseasonal rains, however there isn’t a compensation,” he stated.
Pal, who belongs to the backward class, stated the state authorities spent funds to construct a wall round a temple close by however has not seemed into the implementation of welfare schemes meant for the poor.
“We’re all the time beneath strain from the higher caste folks,” he stated, speaking to Scroll at a village chowk. Earlier than he may elaborate, Pal grew to become quiet as he noticed members of the higher castes strolling in direction of the chowk.
A temple economic system
During the last two years, Chhatarpur, well-known for the Khajuraho temples constructed by the Chandela dynasty, has seen a stream of worshippers.
Most are headed to Garha, a quiet village the place the Bageshwar Dham temple is positioned.
The village is on the cusp of transformation, with brick guesthouses changing mud huts, farms lands getting transformed into tiny eating places to accommodate worshippers.
Right here, even these from the decrease caste communities are all reward for Dhirendra Shastri for rising their earnings alternatives.
Exterior the temple, sweet-maker Dinesh Retwal stated he has no complaints in opposition to the temple or these operating it. “My livelihood relies on the worshippers who come right here,” he stated.
“My concern for this election is the rising value of uncooked materials we use for sweets,” he added. The excessive value of sugar has reduce his revenue margins.
However Garha village is an outlier.
Chhatarpur ranks amongst the bottom 5 districts within the human improvement index in Bundelkhand. Different villages face excessive migration, excessive poverty, and caste discrimination, and Bageshwar Dham appears to have intensified the discrimination.
Arunoday Parmar, the state president of Yuva Halla Bol, an organisation that works on unemployment, stated the Bageshwar Dham has diverted consideration from different necessary problems with Chhatarpur – poor meals safety, excessive poverty and unemployment – and made caste politics the centre of discussions.
With a robust presence of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bundelkhand is a area that has favoured Hindutva politics, stated Chaurasia, from OBC Mahasabha.
On the streets, for instance, a number of voters spoke about what they see as BJP’s success in constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya on the positioning the place the Babri Masjid stood until 1992. “However these belonging to the OBC should not gaining something from Hindutva,” Chaurasia stated. “Neither are we getting elected to gram sabhas, nor the state Meeting or Lok Sabha.”
On this context, Kamal Nath’s efforts to undertaking a soft-Hindutva stance, he stated, won’t assist the OBCs.
‘Secular picture not sufficient’
These in Congress who know Kamal Nath nicely say he has all the time worshipped the Hindu god Hanuman. It is just within the final two years that he has consciously projected his religion publicly.
Scroll spoke with a number of Congress leaders who stated that his resolution to construct such a picture is a private selection and doesn’t communicate for the whole occasion. “What Kamal Nath ji is doing is by his free will,” stated Praveen Pathak, a Congress candidate for Gwalior South seat. “I don’t suppose Congress must play a Hindutva card to get votes.”
However not everybody appears to agree. Youth Congress chief in Gwalior, Aniruddh Tomar, stated Nath started a ‘mannequin Gaushala’ scheme to enhance the situation of stray cattle and allotted funds for cows. “Someplace Congress leaders want to know that having a secular picture gained’t be sufficient,” Tomar stated.
There may be scepticism, nevertheless, about whether or not voters shall be impressed by Nath’s Hindutva lite.
Raghuraj Kansana, who defected from the Congress to the BJP in 2020 together with Jyotiraditya Scindia, stated Nath is “placing up a present” to compete with the BJP’s ideology. “It gained’t work.”
A trainer in Gwalior stated those that vote for Hindutva ideology will proceed to vote for the BJP. “Hindu votes won’t shift to the Congress simply due to Kamal Nath,” he stated.
Chaurasia, from the OBC Mahasabha, too stated that the overtures to the Bageshwar Dham won’t profit the Congress in any means. “Hindu votes gained’t go to Kamal Nath for that reason.” He stated if OBCs vote for Congress, they may vote due to the discontent and unhappiness in opposition to the Shivraj Singh Chouhan authorities.
As an alternative, Nath’s picture may lead Muslims to have a look at the Bahujan Samaj Get together in its place, he stated.
‘No occasion cares for us’
Nevertheless, a number of Muslims voters Scroll spoke with weren’t affected by Kamal Nath’s outreach to Hindus. Madhya Pradesh has over 6% Muslim voters, which makes for an insignificant vote bloc.
Shahid Saudagar owns a fabric retailer in Chhatarpur’s most important market. Saudagar voted for the BJP in 2008 and 2013, however switched to the Congress in 2018. This time, he says, he’ll vote for a change in authorities. “I don’t care about Kamal Nath’s pro-Hindutva politics. As it’s, neither of the 2 events cares about Muslims,” he stated.
Saudagar stated he needs to vote for a change so {that a} new authorities works on training, employment and controls inflation.
Fruit-seller Moinuddin stated regardless of Kamal Nath’s mushy Hindutva, the Congress is basically a secular occasion. “They assist us,” he stated.
