Lok Sabha Elections 2014: In Raajhar, Muslims, Dalits fall silent after Amit Shah's visit

RAAJHAR, SHAMLI: Tucked away behind mango groves and lush poplar trees is the non-descript Raajhar village in Shamli district. It grabbed headlines after Narendra Modi's aide Amit Shah delivered his "revenge" speech here last week.

Negotiate a bumpy ride from Muzaffarnagar, a narrow 3km dirt track through thick groves and fields to reach Raajhar. Villagers wondered why a Gujarat leader bothered to visit Raajhar, about 50km from Muzaffarnagar.

Suresh Pal Verma, husband of village pradhan Susheela, said, "Amit Panwar of the village boasts he is close to Shah. He got Shah here." The school where Shah's meeting was held is run by Panwar's uncle."

On Sunday — a couple of days after Shah's visit — TOI reached the sleepy village home to Batteesa khap comprising a host of smaller khaps. It's the second largest khap, after Baliyan khap, said Verma.

Jats were vocal about who they'll vote for. Since Shah's visit Muslims and Dalits have gone silent, said a Jat youth.

Even during September riots, peace prevailed in Raajhar. "We'd pledged to protect the Muslims and they had complete faith in us," said Verma. Jat elders and Muslims nodded in agreement.

Raajhar falls in Kairana parliamentary constituency where Nahid Hasan (SP), son of sitting MP Tabassum Hasan, is locked in a close contest with uncle Kunwar Hasan (BSP), riot-accused Hukum Singh (BJP) and Kartar Singh Bhadana (RLD).

By Verma's estimates, about 2,900 votes in Raajhar included about 1,000 Jats, 700 Dalits, 600 Muslims and 300 Brahmins. Jat votes are split between RLD and BJP. The BJP strongman's visit doesn't seem to have influenced many Jats to change their minds.

"Babu Hukum Singh is anti-Jat. At the panchayat held before the riots, Jat leaders like Maharaj Singh Lakh were thrown out of the dais. Post-riot, he joined RLD," said Verma, adding, "Shah's visit seems a desperate bid to engineer a communal divide in villages which were riot-free."

Besides, Jat reservation is bringing some Jats back to RLD. Amid fellow villagers, dalits said they'd vote for BJP. Later, they confessed their heart was with BSP, but they were under pressure to vote for BJP.

Though Muslims vacillated between SP and BSP, support for SP grew after Shah's visit. This was also spurred by the fear that BSP could ally with BJP post-poll.