We left for Rampur in Western Uttar Pradesh at 9 p.m. on May 12, traveling over bumpy, dusty roads and reached at around 2:30 a.m. and checked into a hotel, a shady one, and our only option. All others were booked to capacity.
At 7 a.m., we were up and trailing the two women through the narrow alleys and into the interiors of the constituency. Tiring but fun. The edited version appeared in the Indian Express on May 14, 2009.
Chinki Sinha
Rampur, May 13, 2009
On Wednesday, the two ladies of Rampur never crossed each other’s paths.
Seventy-year-old Begum Noor Bano, the Congress candidate, drove around the city, halting and rolling down her silver Tata Safari’s windows often to talk to people, sometimes getting off the car, splendid in her white saree, her diamonds and pearls glittering, and walked to the polling booths as people thronged to see her.
“I have never seen the Begum. I have lived here all my life,” Praveen Chaurasia, a resident of Kaith Wali Masjid, said, sarcasm evident in his voice. “But she lives in palaces. She doesn’t need to come here.”
But the Begum, unfazed, undaunted and always smiling, drove on.
On the sidewalk, Farhana Begum stood, her gaze trailing the silver vehicle.
“She is beautiful. Yes, I voted for Noor Bano,” she said.
In another part of the constituency, Jayaprada rode in another silver-colored SUV trudging along the dusty, narrow roads, right into the interiors of her constituency. It was here, on the fringes of the constituency that Jayaprada is still a star. Little children ran after her vehicle, shouting, and alerting villagers that “Jayaprada” had come. And people gathered, hundreds of them, defying the sun, and waited patiently to get a glimpse of her.
She never entered the city. And Noor Bano never ventured into the villages.
But the battle never played out between the two anyways. In Rampur, the war is between Samajwadi Party leaders Azam Khan and Amar Singh. And while Jayaprada finds herself dragged into the dirty fight, desperately pleading her constituents to vote for her, for Noor Bano, it is all playing out in her favour.
As the polling closed, Congress workers were optimistic.
“It is a 60-40 ratio. Noor Bano is winning,” KD Mathur, a Congress supporter, said.
In 2004, the Bollywood star defeated the royal family’s daughter-in-law by 85,000 votes, of which 55,000 votes had fallen in her kitty because of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s support in the city areas. Five years later, the equations had changed and the star was pitched in a battle against her own mentor, who said she was friendly with the RSS.
However, on Wednesday Bano kept to the sidelines, never lashing out against Jayaprada or Azam Khan, who she said she had made amends with.
Sitting in Noor Mahal’s visiting area where incidentally the shelves are lined with Mayawati’s pictures (Noor Bano’s son is a BSP MLA), Noor Begum reminisced about the years gone by, and how her husband told her she had to take care of her people. This is her fifth election.
“Last time I lost because I never considered SP as a contender. The fight was between the BJP and the Congress. It was unexpected,” she said. “She just came. There were singing and dancing. 35 Bollywood stars came to campaign for her. People here had never seen anything like that. They were charmed.”
Noor Bano has never met her opponent. Only once, they came face to face with each other when both had gone to the beauty salon in Le Meridian in Delhi. That was three months ago.
She only knows her through her films.
“She doesn’t ;live here,” she said. “I am in touch with the people.”
But the locals think otherwise.
“She goes to Paris, London. What does she know about us,” Geeta Rani, another voter said. “At least Jayaprada has done development here.”
But Ikram Khan won’t betray his first lady. He has forgiven her.
“She is our sympathiser,” he said, as he queued up to talk to Noor Bano. “Jayaprada is only film, only glamour. Begum has said she will be with us forever now. May God bless her.”
Noor Bano needed the blessings. At 4:45 a.m. when she woke up, she kneeled down in prayers, and then went out to vote.
Outside her residence, a Sufi saint stood, counting the beads.
Along the battle lines, Gods were invoked often.
On Wednesday, Jayaprada, the star, consulted her stars often. Over the phone, astrologers told her it was an auspicious day and she needn’t worry.
At 8 a.m., when she emerged out of her bedroom, dressed in a cream suit, the dupatta draped over her head, she folded her hands in supplication and prayed to the deities lined up on the side table.
Then her family prayed as extra security personnel gathered outside the emperor’s suite at Modipur Hotel, which is about five kilometres away from the city. They weren’t taking any chances after her hotel room was raided Monday night and there were rumurs that Azam Khan’s supporters might attack her.
“I am scared. But I am hopeful,” Jayaprada said, as she got out of the suite.
A quick stop at the temple and then it was the turn of the far-flung villages like Shahbad, Milak, and Dharampur.
The Rampur fight has become quite a pot-boiler with high drama preceding the election day. After Azam Khan rebelled, Jayaprada found herself in a fix, desperately seeking votes to keep her seat.
In the last few days, she has kept busy, dodging rumurs, clarifying that the CDs with her nude pictures on it were morphed, and constantly touching on the fact that a woman being maligned isn’t good politics.
But she still called Azam Khan her brother.
Khan, meanwhile, refused allegations that he had circulated the CDs.
“Where are the CDs? I want to see one and I want to know where she got it from if she has one,” he said. “I wouldn’t do such a thing. I am a simple man. I respect women.”
And while the city turned against her, and the Azam Khan factor weaned away the Muslim votes, her work – 13 bridges, a culvert, schools - brought her the votes.
In a polarized election such as this one, BJP and even a few BSP votes have come to her rescue. Most of the Lodh Rajput community are supporting Jayaprada. And in view of the Muslims coming together in Azam Khan’s support, some BJP supporters have also thrown their weight behind Jayaprada.
For more than a month, Jayaprada has been camping in Rampur, canvassing with her family.
On Wednesday, as the daughter got out of her suite, she stooped to touch her mother’s feet. Neelaveni hugged her daughter tight. Barefoot, the mother followed Jayaprada to the foyer.
At Noor Mahal, a mother prepared for a day out in the constituency, as her daughter, Saman Ali Khan, ushered Noor Bano into the car.
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