Dargah Sharif, Sufi shrine of Ajmer, stays indifferent to poll tunes

AJMER: In the narrow lanes leading to the various gates of the famed Sufi shrine of Ajmer, the Dargah Sharif, there are hardly any signs that indicate that the polls to the state assembly are just days away.

“There’s not much buzz in this election,” says Suresh, the cab driver, as he manouevres his rickety Maruti 800 that pretty much fills up the bustling lane. An immigrant from far-away Kerala, Suresh says the 35 years that he spent in Ajmer have taught him enough about the criss-crossing roads and the political intricacies of the township.

Yet, he doesn’t have an answer to what appears to be Ajmer’s indifference ahead of the polls this time. Even those who hobnob with ace politicians aren’t any wiser. Of the 1.85 lakh voters in Ajmer North, the Muslim community accounts for around 20%, in a state where they hardly make up 8%.

The community here in Ajmer North have traditionally voted for the Congress. But this time, they want to send a message to the Grand Old Party not to take them for granted.

Yet, no one’s sure who or what is the alternative. “Nobody expects anything from BJP, but the Congress has never given a ticket to a Muslim in this seat,” says Yasir Hussain Gurdezi, the Khadim who performed Ziyarat (prayer) for Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi when he last visited the shrine. Khadims are priests in the dargah who perform prayers for visitors.


Gurdezi’s father Abdul Ghani Gurdezi had performed prayers for Indira Gandhi in 1978, after she lost the election post-Emergency, and later for Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.

“People come to the dargah from all over the country and all faiths. I can sense that they want a change in the political scene,” says Gurdezi. While acknowledging that Muslims have been favouring Congress since the Babri Masjid demolition, he indicates there is an undercurrent of resentment in the community towards the party.

In the Ajmer North constituency, Congress has put up Gopal Baheti, who belong to the Vaish or trader community, and the BJP candidate is Vasudev Devnani, a Sindhi, the sitting MLA.

Even if the Muslims are disillusioned with the Congress, it is unlikely to translate into votes for the BJP, says Gurdezi. “They may abstain from voting but are unlikely to vote in favour of BJP,” he says.

In the Khadim mohalla, there is not much to show for any BJP presence, yet there appears to be a resigned acceptance of a possible change in the political winds. “There is no third option in the state for the Muslims,” says Gurdezi.

Mayawati’s BSP had given ticket to a khadim to contest from the seat. Muslims may have voted for him, but he withdrew his candidature because he had been sentenced in a murder case, he says.

Whether the Muslims vote in less numbers or for a third party, it would be Advantage BJP. Gurdezi’s uncle Khadim Abdul Bari Chishty, who performs prayers for BJP leaders, is on the opposite side of the political spectrum, but agrees with Gurdezi that the Muslims have no alternative or third choice in the bipolar politics of Rajasthan. He has been busy organising support in rallies of BJP leaders including Narendra Modi and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s son-in-law Narpat Singh Rajvi, who is fighting the assembly elections from the Srimadhopur constituency.

On Thursday, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will be addressing a gathering at Ajmer's Patel Maidan. There was no indication till Wednesday night if he would visit the shrine, like other BJP leaders including the party's chief ministerial candidate Vasundhara Raje, have done.

Abdul Bari Chishty, whose association with the BJP begins from the days of the Jan Sangh, says “voters are now more aware... Last two elections the voting percentage here was very low but this time it may go up.”