After having been beaten in the game of one-upmanship at the hands of Chief Minister Harish Rawat more than once in the recent past, the State BJP is now turning the tables on the Congress, converting landhaura violence to its electoral advantage.
As part of its strategy, the saffron party is projecting the former MlA, Kunwar Pranav Singh 'Champion' as the champion of his community, striving to make his insecurity as the collective insecurity of the community he is from. Notably, BJP national president Amit Shah is scheduled to address a public rally in Haridwar on Saturday. The Opposition party is pulling out all the stops to wrest Haridwar district from the Congress. The district enjoys a sentimental place in the political stratagem of the Chief Minister as he had his resurrection through winning the general election-2009 from Haridwar constituency.
The residence of Champion, one of the nine Congress dissidents who later along with others switched to the BJP, was attacked by a mob, infuriated by the allegation that the holy book of a particular community was desecrated at the behest of the former MlA's uncle. Several cars parked in his premises were set ablaze. “The BJP would use the fact of the CM being present in Haridwar the day the violence broke out to the hilt to prove the point that things were part of a pre-meditated plan to avenge Champion turning a rebel and switching to the BJP. Champion has become the new cynosure of the saffron eyes and is being taken to parts of poll-bound UP to rouse the rabble and to polarize,” said a political analyst.
Talking to The Pioneer, a senior BJP leader alleged that the gory turn the landhaura incident had taken could not have been so but for the complicity of the administration at the behest of those running the State. "Haridwar is a communally sensitive district. None knows it better than the CM Harish Rawat. But things seemed to have precipitated the way the rulers wanted - to avenge the humiliation the party suffered because of the rebellion and switch of Champion. Now, it is another story that things are taking the form of backlash against the scheming politicians of the ruling party," he added.
The State watchers are of the view that the arson and its aftermath have made Champion the exclusive champion of the cause of the Gurjar community. "He wears the turban to endear himself more to the community he represents. He is being elected in consecutive elections since 2002. The community as a whole has taken the arson at his residence as something that happened to themselves. If things remain so it augurs ill for the Congress. Moreover, the BJP's tactics to stir up collective emotions on the arson succeeds it might deal the ruling party a deadly blow. The Haridwar district would elect 11 legislators in the 70-member House," said a State watcher.
However, there is a rub. The fire-spewing leader can be easily provoked into venting out vitriol.
And often the words he uses against his opponents cross the limit of parliamentary decorum. Besides, he always carries firearms. "Recently, he locked horns with the State Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay over the same landhaura issue. The BJP must be wary of his fiery tongue while using him as its mascot at least for Haridwar district," another observer said.