All eyes are now on Meerut, which goes to polls today in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The ruling party has thrown its weight behind actor Arun Govil, who is contesting elections on a BJP ticket for the first time in Meerut constituency. The party hopes that people will make Ram go online and vote for Govil, who played the role of Lord Ram in the television series Ramayan, in large numbers.
The Meerut constituency is important and significant for the BJP as it has sidelined its sitting MP Rajendra Agrawal to field a new candidate, Arun Govil. While the actor-turned-politician has been able to attract crowds during his campaigns and roadshows, it is equally important to see what percentage of the crowd is influenced by the ‘Ram’ quotient to vote for the BJP.
Arun Govil played the role of Lord Ram in the television series Ramayan.
BJP leader Agrawal has won the Meerut Lok Sabha seat three times in a row, and local supporters are a little miffed by the party’s decision to hire an actor because, in the history of Indian politics, actors turned Politicians have always disappointed people.
Although people have mixed reactions about Govil’s choice, a large section of the crowd felt that an experienced politician is needed who can develop the area rather than an actor whom people only want to visit for selfies. The general opinion is that people always regret after voting for an actor-turned-politician.
In a bid to achieve a landslide victory in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the BJP inaugurated the Ram temple in Ayodhya and promoted it on a large scale to use it as an electoral platform to decimate the opposition.
Heavyweights of the saffron brigade, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, among others, visited the constituency to campaign. Interestingly, Adityanath visited the constituency at least five times in the last few days to campaign.
The saffron brigade knows the religious nerves of the local residents of Meerut, where they invited key characters from Ramayan, including Dipika Chikhlia (who played the role of Sita) and Sunil Lahri (Laxman), to campaign for Govil. With the political campaign reminding locals of Ramayan, the BJP is making all-out efforts to influence and translate large crowds into votes to win this important seat.
Although the BJP has been exuding confidence in a resounding victory in the constituency, the saffron party remains cautious as the opposition, including Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati, has carried out massive campaigns and public meetings to cut their votes.
Phase II of elections in UP
>> 91 candidates in fray for eight Lok Sabha constituencies
>> These seats are Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Mathura.
>> 81 male and 10 female candidates
>> 1,67,77,198 voters in total, including 90,26,051 men, 77,50,356 women and 791 third gender voters.
About Meerut Constituency
>> Eight candidates in the running
>> 20,00,530 voters in total, of which 10,75,368 are men; 9,25,022 women; and 140 voters of the third gender
2 lakh
Approximate number of voters in Meerut
8
Number of candidates in the fray for Meerut