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Feared gangster takes up job of demolishing Mulayam's citadel

Basharat Peer in Sambhal

The Rashtriya Lok Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine's candidate in Sambhal constituency has a reputation that sends shivers down his opponents' spines.

No, it is not his amazing popularity with the masses.

It is his police record.

Mangu Tyagi, say local police officers, is a big fish in Uttar Pradesh 's world of crime.

Tyagi has been accused of 52 offences and been to jail many times. As one policeman put it, he "has been charged under almost all sections of the Indian Penal Code".

Tyagi's file with the local police says he is out on bail and under surveillance. The list of charges spans many years and includes murders, attempted murders, abductions, extortion and possession of illegal arms, apart from arson and goondaism.

Personnel at the Sambhal police chief's office say Tyagi is now into big-league extortion. "He can call any millionaire and get Rs 15-20 lakh from him in minutes," said one constable.

Police chief Raj Shekhar agrees. "His criminal record is well-known," Shekhar told rediff.com "But the Election Commission still permits him [to contest the election] as the trials of his cases are still going on and he has not been convicted yet."

Shekhar adds, "I have heard that he has even been booked under the National Security Act once."

Tyagi, who closed his campaign on Tuesday, comes across as a muscular, rough, middle-aged man trying to put on the neta (leader) act.

A farmer's son, he belongs to a village called Eesapur near Sambhal town and got involved in politics after he was elected president of some block-level body in 1996. An acquaintance with Ajit Singh, Rashtriya Lok Dal president, got him the party's ticket to contest the assembly election.

"I am winning hands down," he says with a smile. "People are showering their love and affection on me everywhere."

Ask him about his criminal record and he does not deny it. Rather, he hints at a reformation. "Valmikiji bhee daku thay. Hamara system bhee unhee ke jaisa hai [Valmiki was a dacoit too. My case is similar to his]," he says referring to the bandit-turned-sage who wrote the epic Ramayan.

Tyagi is doing well in the electoral battle. He is one of three candidates in the reckoning. Thanks to the RLD's alliance with the BJP, he is assured of the traditional BJP vote. And his rural background, he claims, is getting him votes in the villages, cutting across the religious divide.

"The representatives from Sambhal have all been from an urban background. Now it is time for a villager to be here and work for the development of the area," says Tyagi.

But his rivals argue that it is not Tyagi's dedication to work for the people, but the fear of his wrath that may fetch him the rural votes.

Sambhal, 80 per cent of whose population is Muslim, is a communally sensitive area. Some Hindus here claim that the town's Jama Masjid was built after demolishing a temple.

The communal divide means that Sambhal remains a dormant volcano, but it is the Muslim majority that decides political futures here.

The Samajwadi Party's Iqbal Mehmood, Tyagi and Rashtriya Parivartan Party's Shafiq-ur-Rahman Barq are the main contenders for the seat.

This time, politics in the region has assumed a personal dimension. Apart from a non-existent following among the Muslim voters, Tyagi's past might cast a shadow on his performance.

Mehmood, who held the seat in the outgoing assembly, is a descendant of the erstwhile nawab of Sambhal. His father represented the constituency in the state assembly for 17 years. And the son is confident of retaining it.

"SP is going to sweep the elections here," says Mehmood. "It is Mulayam Singhji's constituency and our party has done a lot for the area." He is banking on the Muslim votes, which can easily see him through.

But longstanding rival and popular Muslim leader Barq is competing for a share of those votes. A pioneer of the Babri Masjid Action Committee, Barq has been MLA thrice and MP from Moradabad twice. This is his thirteenth electoral contest and he's leaving no stone unturned to make sure that it does not prove unlucky.

"When it comes to the Muslim votes, it is Barq who is getting the lion's share," said O P Sharma, a local businessman. "So between the two Muslim candidates, Barq stands a better chance."

Barq also claims the support of a section of the Hindu voters owing to his personal relations with them.

The Samajwadi candidate makes similar claims. As proof, he points out that local Hindus even weighed him in coins (customary when welcoming a candidate and assuring him of support).

But Barq does seem to have the edge amongst the Muslims following his Advani-style rathyatra a month ago through various parts of the state to consolidate the Muslim vote.

"I am sure the Muslim vote will tilt towards me. Then there is the Yadav vote, thanks to my party chief D P Yadav," says Barq, who has been something of a party-hopper, from the Samajwadi Party to the Bahujan Samaj Party to the little-known RPP.

Sambhal is set to go to the polls on Thursday. There are no clear-cut indications as to who is going to bag the seat. But one thing appears certain: the Samajwadi magic is waning despite Sambhal being the Lok Sabha constituency of no less than Mulayam Singh himself.

Basharat Peer is en route to Kannauj, from where he will report tomorrow. If you have any queries for him, click here. And if you want to check out our other reporters on campaign trail, click here.

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