It’s been a subject of hot debate: Will the proposed Babri Masjid in Rejinagar, an initiative by suspended Trinamool Congress MLA and Aam Janata Unnayan Party leader Humayun Kabir, have any impact on this Bengal election?
It depends on how Muslim voters, who have for years backed Trinamool, respond to the politics surrounding the upcoming mosque, to be modelled on the demolished original in Ayodhya.
A few acres of what was a paddy field till last December in this corner of Murshidabad have now turned into a religious destination for many Muslims, including some from other countries.
“We had come to visit a relative in Calcutta. Then we decided to visit the Babri Masjid site to get a firsthand view of what’s going on here,” said Lutfor Rahaman, 65, a resident of Kushtia in Bangladesh.
Rahaman had come with his two daughters, Farhana Nargis and Farjana Zebin, who spent over an hour at the Babri site.
“It touched us when we heard that someone had taken the initiative to rebuild the Babri Masjid that was demolished in 1992,” Rahaman said, standing near a pile
of bricks in the scorching April heat.
None of the three visitors from Bangladesh showed any interest in those behind the construction of the mosque.
Lakhs of bricks, donated by devout Muslims, have been stockpiled on a stretch of land off National Highway 12 at Chetiani village, where the mosque is to come up.
A small office has been set up to collect donations, and a series of stalls — mainly food stalls and “pice hotels” — have mushroomed on both sides of the national highway to cater to the thousands of visitors.
A group of masons was constructing a gate for the mosque when The Telegraph visited the site on April 1. Local traders claimed that though the rush of visitors had thinned, the area still turned into a fairground every Friday when thousands assembled for prayers.
“People had a huge interest earlier. Thousands used to visit every day. All the hotels you see here came up within a week,” said Saheb Sheikh, a tea-stall owner at the site.
Sukurulla Sheikh, a 50-year-old marginal farmer, bought a machine to extract sugarcane juice and earned money the like of which he had never before seen in
his life.
“It gave a lot of people sudden and substantial income. Currently, the flow of tourists has ebbed,” Sukurulla said.
He hoped the footfalls would increase once the mosque had been built. No timetable has been set, though, for the mosque’s completion.
Sukurulla ducked the question whether the visitors — and he himself — would vote for the people building the mosque.
A man standing near a stall said that if all those who had visited the site in the past three months voted for Kabir’s new party, it could win most of the Muslim-
dominated seats, at least in Murshidabad.
“This is a religious sentiment; voting is completely different,” the man said. He didn’t wish to be named.
The mosque project’s emotional impact was prominently visible in Kabir’s strongholds of Rejinagar, Beldanga and Nawda. Kabir is contesting from both Rejinagar and Nawda.
Beldanga market, part of the Rejinagar constituency, appeared unusually deserted on April 1. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi, then an ally of Kabir, was scheduled to attend a joint rally in Nawda, about 20km away.
“Most shops are closed as people have gone to Kabir’s rally in Nawda,” Iqbal Sheikh, who runs a paan and cigarette stall at Beldanga market, said.
But less than 30km away, the impact appeared to fade in Siyalmara village, on the outskirts of Behrampore town.
A group of middle-aged Muslim men were discussing the SIR-related harassment and expressing concern over how many people would be denied a chance to vote
this time.
Asked whether they would vote for Kabir’s party for building the Babri Masjid, they seemed genuinely astonished.
“Why? Building the Babri Masjid is a good decision. But why did he form a political party? Did he want to build the mosque to get our votes?” said Rustam Sheikh, identifying himself as the imam of a local mosque.
“If he had just built the mosque and not formed a party, he would have been treated as a pir (saint).”
Many people said Kabir’s image had taken a beating after Trinamool released a video that purportedly showed him striking a deal with the BJP in exchange for money. Owaisi’s party broke its ties with Kabir after the video surfaced.
Kabir, who claims the video is part of a Trinamool conspiracy, believes the proposed Babri Masjid will still have an impact.
“I have been in politics for 43 years. I operated within certain boundaries all this time. Now, Humayun Kabir is an all-India figure,” he told this newspaper.
“One or two national media outlets reach my house even before I have woken up. This has happened within just four months, and only because of the Babri Masjid.”
He added: “On December 6, I laid the foundation stone.... Since then, my public recognition has increased.
“Politically, apart from Mamata Banerjee, no one in Bengal has succeeded after stepping outside the mainstream. Many big politicians have failed. Yet I formed a party just four months ago, and now my candidates are contesting from 142 seats. This has been possible because of the Babri Masjid.”
Trinamool leaders agree that Kabir had gained sudden political momentum because of the proposed mosque, but claim he has lost it after the video surfaced.
“Certainly, it’s because of the Babri Masjid that Humayun Kabir gained recognition and his party became known,” Mushidabad Trinamool chief Niamat Sheikh said.
“However, that popularity no longer exists. People have realised their mistake and are moving away from him.”
- Murshidabad votes today