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Basharat Peer in Mathura
If something can beat the politics of religion, it is caste.
And the proof lies in Mathura.
Ever since the Ayodhya movement picked up steam in 1989 and culminated in the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, Mathura has elected only Bharatiya Janata Party candidates.
But barely a few hundred metres from the Krishnaji Janam Sthal (Krishna's birthplace), it becomes evident that the frenzy that the Ram Temple issue once evoked has ebbed considerably.
And so has the confidence of the BJP.
The Congress party is giving the BJP a tough fight in Mathura, thanks in no small measure due to the factionalism prevalent in the local BJP unit.
The constituency with a 200,000 plus electorate has around 70,000 Brahmins, 18,000 Muslims, 22,000 Jatav, 10,000 Jats and a sizeable number of Banias.
While the BJP had a sailing smooth earlier, this time the going has got tougher.
BJP candidate Ravi Kant Garg, who is the state fisheries minister, is a Bania who had fought as a rebel candidate in the 1996 assembly election.
His opponent was BJP's current Mathura MLA Swami Ram Swarup Sharma, who has been left out in the cold.
Obviously there is resentment in Swami's camp at the nomination of Garg as the official BJP candidate this time around.
"There were charges of corruption against Garg and he was not given the ticket last time. But after Naresh Agarwal, who was the power minister, was sacked, the BJP to ensure the support of the Bania community chose Grag as a candidate," Madan Mohan Srivastava, a senior BJP functionary, said.
Another BJP worker Ganesh Prasad Jindal said that Swami 's followers are not going to take it lightly.
"They might not even vote for BJP. But considering that BJP is a cadre based party, they would not vote for any other party. They might just abstain," he said.
It is the Brahmin vote that has decided the fortunes in Mathura.
Samajwadi Party, which does not wield much influence here, has fielded a Brahmin candidate Ram Guru, which means at least a marginal cut in the Brahmin vote bank.
The intense rivalry within the BJP can even tilt the balance in favour of the Congress candidate, Pradeep Mathur, who is a Bania and has the solid backing of his community. Mathur's position has been further strengthened by the 18,000 Muslim voters.
"Muslims have decided to vote for him. If he gets the Brahmin votes also, he will pull it off. In fact had the Congress fielded a Brahmin candidate, the victory was theirs for sure," a local journalist said.
But the BJP has the support of the 10,000 Jat voters, thanks to its alliance with Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal.
But for all the caste equations, the real issues still remain untouched.
"Look at the state of the roads here. There is also electricity and water problem. For how long can we vote for BJP just because it claims to be the defender of Hindutva?" Ramesh Agarwal, a shopkeeper, asked.
But the BJP is confident that the religious character of Mathura will help it sail through.
"Mathura is a religious place and we are certainly going to win here. The reason being that BJP is the only party that is fighting for the dharm and the places of religious importance to Hindus," Ravi Kant Garg said.
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