dailyO
Politics

Saharanpur: First-time MP fights for change

Advertisement
Advaita Kala
Advaita KalaOct 07, 2014 | 15:18

Saharanpur: First-time MP fights for change

The first thing the 39-year-old first time MP from Saharanpur, Raghav Lakhanpal (BJP) tells me is that he isn't a politician. He refuses to define himself as one, there is something "derogatory" about the term. Who can blame him after the bashing politicians have received in the past few years, it would make anyone a little self conscious. Instead he goes by "social worker" - that is what he fills out as his profession in all forms.

Advertisement

In my series of interactions with first-time young MPs, this seems to be a recurring theme. They are either choosing to remain undefined or redefining what it means to be a politician. But Lakhanpal has been in the game for a while, he is a three-time-MLA and this is his first stint in Parliament. After the untimely demise of his father, a sitting MLA, he found himself grief-stricken and compelled to make a choice that he had never anticipated, one of joining politics.

Giving in to the dharna outside his home, he decided to plunge into politics, or social work (as he calls it) as a way of expressing solidarity with those who had come to depend on his father. It was in many ways an emotional decision but one that has worked.

Lakhanpal, who has the reputation of being honest, has not only won all the three elections he stood for as an MLA, but has also delivered on the seat he vacated in May in this recent bypoll. This was a fiercely contested election that saw the BJP practically routed in Uttar Pradesh despite the triumph of the General Elections of 2014.

Advertisement

 width=

  Saharanpur MP Raghav Lakhanpal 

Reluctance

Lakhanpal's reluctance has given way to a confidence drawn from experience at the grassroots level in the big, bad and polarised world of UP politics, quite different from his public school origins.

The initial stint as MP has been eventful, most notably for the recent riots in Saharanpur, and his indictment by a commission - comprised entirely of political rivals from the Samajwadi Party - which rendered the whole process of enquiry as laughable.

But then justice is an unusual request in present day Uttar Pradesh. Lakhanpal contends the enquiry was set up, conducted with an eye on the bypolls, with an attempt at polarising the electorate. The attempt clearly failed, given the results and the BJP won.

On the day of the riot, he drove all the way from Delhi and reached by the time things had settled. However, constituents were still seeking help and asking to be rescued from flash points. He drove into the affected area and ferried people out of harm's way. This was a rather natural thing to do, as far as he was concerned, better than sitting at home and working the phones - his people needed him.

Advertisement

 

Justice

Saharanpur constituency remains a communal hotspot, this event may have passed, but there is always a tenuous balance that is maintained. The process of seeking justice with a state government that is averse to the idea remains; as does the everyday demand for development in the five electoral districts that make up his constituency, of which only one seat is with the BJP.

He tells me it's an uphill battle to get things through, with the state government and officials always ready with excuses serving as effective speed breakers. Furthermore, in his opinion, Saharanpur has been let down by previous governments, "with the BSP only erecting statues and the SP indulging in appeasement politics."

In the past it was a trading hub, since it shared its borders with three states, but with the creation of Uttarakhand, opportunities have been lost. His focus, during his term as MP, will be on development, but also on putting an end to corrupt and illegal practices that have ailed his constituency. The first area of attention is illegal mining.

 

Support

He pegs the loss at about 14,000 crore and it continues unabated despite his protests. There is little support coming his way since the beneficiary of this mining exercise is a local MLC. A request has been submitted to the collector and a deadline has been issued. "If it isn't met, there will be a dharna, and thousands will come," Lakhanpal tells me on the phone, as he drives from one Ram Leela venue to another. Real politik mingles with cultural and social engagements, all in the same day for him.

Its become more hectic, earlier he was responsible for one electoral district, now there are five. In a sense, he has been raised to being an MLA five times over. UP politics has veered on the absurd all too often. With prejudiced inquiry committees and coinages like "love jihad", how does he - as a young, progressive face of a party that rode the development wave and came to power - reconcile the two? He tells me, "I don't know what 'love jihad' is and its not on the party's agenda. If there is a girl who has been wronged by anyone from any community she will get our support, it has nothing to do with religion."

An important and heartening enunciation, but only time will tell which voice of the BJP finds amplification. But with newer and more progressive voices muting failed and divisive rhetoric, there may be acche din after all.

 

Last updated: October 07, 2014 | 15:18
IN THIS STORY
Please log in
I agree with DailyO's privacy policy