– Khan Tahir
What kind of time is this that a kite lies on the ground, but no child picks it up? The streets have the most garbage because of the brooms.
This is election time.
When I set out from Abul Fazl to Batla House, there were 15 minutes left for prayer. I thought I would pray with the congregation at a mosque a little farther away so that I could reach Batla House quickly.
I performed ablution (Wazu) in a hurry and left Abul Fazl, but after three to four minutes, my ablution (Wazu) broke. No, Alhamdulillah, I don’t have any gas-related illness, nor do I have any wound from which blood could flow, yet my ablution (Wazu) broke. The reason was that there are several drains on the way from Abul Fazl to Batla House. Fountain from every drain. It’s a good thing that the drains are on the road; if they were at a higher elevation, waterfalls would have been flowing from them.
Somehow, I reached the mosque, performed ablution again, offered my prayer, and then proceeded toward Batla House.
It was quite cold, and I had forgotten to bring my muffler. A little ahead, an Aam Aadmi Party rally was passing by. I thought their government hadn’t benefited me in the past several years, so why not take advantage today? They were distributing mufflers, so I took one and covered my ears. However, since the muffler was quite thin, it didn’t completely shield me from the cold.
A bit further, a Congress rally was taking place. I took a muffler from there as well and doubled it with the AAP’s muffler to cover my ears properly. Walking a little more, I came across an All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) rally, where I got another muffler and wrapped it around my neck.
Just as I neared Batla House, a BJP rally was passing by. I took their muffler and covered my mouth with it.
I walked a little further and met a friend. He asked, with great humility, “Tahir Bhai, which party are you supporting?”
I replied, “We are against oppressors, against murderers, against liars, and against injustice. We stand with those who are the opposite of these. Besides, in Delhi, we neither oppose nor support any political party because there isn’t much benefit in doing so – my voter ID is not from Delhi.”
My friend then made an insightful remark. He said, “Did you wrap these mufflers in this way after some thought?”
I said, “No. As I walked, I kept collecting mufflers along the way. Wherever I felt colder, I covered that part, and now here I am, standing before you.”
My friend said, “If someone were given eight to nine hours to describe the reality of Delhi through these mufflers, they might have wrapped them in the same way.”
“The two mufflers wrapped around your ears – the AAP and Congress Party mufflers – show that whenever the public raises complaints, these two parties shut their ears. The fact that you layered them one over the other signifies that their ideologies are almost the same.
The AIMIM muffler around your neck represents two things. First, that the AIMIM plays on the front foot and does not fear even if their throats are slit. Second, it indicates that AIMIM stands for those whose lives are in danger, those who are imprisoned, as their candidates often imprisoned, too.
The BJP muffler covering your mouth proves that BJP not only shuts its ears to public grievances but also silences the people themselves.”
Hearing my friend’s interesting remarks, I was left in deep thought. Then I suddenly remembered that I was pursuing a journalism course – and that too in India. In India, a journalist is an unofficial spokesperson of the BJP. This meant that I, too, was an unofficial spokesperson of the BJP.
How could I tolerate someone speaking ill of BJP in front of me? I immediately responded, “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”, “Modi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai”, and so on.
Just then, my second phone – the one I had to get after living in Delhi – started ringing. I picked it up. The call was from the AAP. As soon as I received the call, they enthusiastically congratulated me and asked, “Won’t you give me a party?”
The way they asked the question left me confused. For a moment, I wondered if a lovely baby girl had born in my family. Then I quickly remembered that I wasn’t even married yet!
The next thought that crossed my mind was whether my parents had secretly arranged my marriage, and now my friends had found out and were demanding a celebration.
While I was still lost in these thoughts, the caller continued, saying, “As soon as the AAP forms the government, you will start benefiting by five to six thousand rupees per month. That’s why you should give me a party.”
Everywhere, people were talking about the Delhi elections. I was extremely frustrated – elections, elections, elections everywhere! Delhi, Delhi, Delhi all around!
If you stepped onto the street, you’d see political rallies. If you picked up a newspaper, it was filled with news about the Delhi elections. I was tired of hearing about it.
Just then, I received a call from the BJP. But instead of talking about Delhi, they started discussing Punjab.
In the recorded call from BJP, they said, “The Aam Aadmi Party made false promises in Punjab as well. Don’t fall for their tricks – vote for BJP.”
For a moment, I thought of responding – even on this recorded call – “You talk about false promises in Punjab, but why don’t you talk about the false promises made at the national level?”
Then I suddenly remembered that I was an Indian journalist – and before I could say anything, the call was disconnected.
On February 4, I received a call from Sachin Tendulkar. He, too, explained the importance of voting in the elections.
During the election period, several rallies took place. On behalf of the Congress Party, prominent leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Azharuddin, and Kanhaiya Kumar were seen leading rallies on the streets of Okhla.
From the AIMIM, leaders like Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi, Majid Hussain, and Imtiaz Jaleel also made their presence felt on the streets of Okhla.
During this time, finally I also see my Okhla MLA, Amanatullah Khan – though not physically. I saw him in a photograph once again.
Every leader gave speeches, praised their own party, and criticized the opposition. Every event was crowded, with proper seating arrangements. Everything was in place – except for decency and manners.
These days, our political leaders have developed a habit – they don’t feel accomplished unless they criticise others.
It would have been better if each party had simply highlighted their achievements – for instance, if the AAP had talked about its work in Delhi, and other parties had presented their contributions in their respective states. They could have also outlined what they planned to do in Delhi.
Had they done this, it would have been easier for the people of Delhi to understand whom to vote for and who should be their MLA.
During the election campaign, a video of Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan’s son went viral.
Some people, while talking to me, said, “Amanatullah Khan should discipline his son. His son is damaging his image.”
I replied, “His son is actually keeping Amanatullah Khan in the news. The very Amanatullah who, despite being an MLA, was nowhere to be seen – at least because of his son, a few news channels came to interview him.”
Then I suddenly remembered – I am an Indian journalist! How can I speak the truth?
When I reached my sister’s house in Batla House, I found out that my nieces hadn’t gone to school. Upon asking, I learned that students were given the day off because the road to school was in terrible condition.
You might recall how the Delhi government claimed to have improved public schools – you may have even seen videos about it. But what’s the point of improving schools if the roads leading to them are unusable?
Oh, sorry! I am an Indian journalist.
On my way back from Batla House, I came across people sitting at tables, checking voter lists and informing citizens where they needed to go to vote.
I approached one of these tables and asked them to check my name. First, I told them my name, and they checked. Then they asked for my address, which I provided. They checked again but found nothing.
After searching multiple times, they finally said, “Please bring your voter ID.”
Coincidentally, my voter ID was in my pocket. I took it out and placed it in their hands.
Upon checking, they said, “Your ID is not from Delhi. How can you vote here?”
I replied, “I know I can’t vote here. I also knew my name wouldn’t be on the list. But you pitiable guys have been sitting here idle since morning, and it didn’t look good – so I thought I’d keep you busy for a while.”
Before they could send me to a mental asylum, I figured it was best to leave on my own.
Finally, on February 5, the people of Delhi cast their votes. Now, everyone was waiting for February 8 – the day of the election results. On that day, it would be revealed which party would form the government in Delhi and, more importantly, who would be elected as the MLA of Okhla – the seat the entire country was watching.
