“I have seen Ram in front of me. We believe in him wholeheartedly and now that he has come to ask for votes, how can we not make sure that he wins?” said Munish.
As Govil walked down the streets, a saffron scarf around his neck, he was greeted by a crowd of admirers. Women hurried out of their homes to catch a glimpse of him, recording quick videos on their phones, while others showered him with flowers from their rooftops. In return, Govil shook as many hands as he could, accepting garlands and even occasionally placing one from around his own neck onto someone else’s.
BJP candidate Arun Govil while campaigning in Meerut | Photo Krishan Murari, ThePrintOne such person is 56-year-old Satbiri. “This garland is special to me. My Lord has given it to me. There is the same smile on his face as I had seen on TV,” she said.
Dressed in a pink kurta, with vermillion on his forehead, Govil said to ThePrint, “Seeing this love fills my heart. How can I repay this? Such love can be found only in India. The public has given me a special place in their hearts. Now it’s my turn to do something for them.”
“It is all happening because of Ram. Ram wants, that is why I am able to contest from here,” he added.
Though it has been over 35 years since the original run of Ramayana episodes aired on DD National, Govil’s image as the titular character from the show has remained in people’s memories. This will likely hold him in good stead in the upcoming elections — his first. At least that’s what the BJP hopes. The party is making full use of Govil’s image as Ram. He was even using Lord Ram’s picture during his campaign, till the Meerut district administration issued a notice to him.
During the daily road shows that Govil is busy doing across Meerut constituency, BJP workers raise loud slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”. Music blares from speakers on the campaign vehicle: ‘Doodh mangoge to seedha kheer denge hum, Ram pe jo baat to seedha cheer denge hum” (If you demand milk, we’ll give you sweet rice pudding, but if you question Ram, we’ll kill you).
Govil has over 2 million followers on Facebook, around 1.2 million followers on X, and a million on Instagram. His bio on Instagram reads, “Ramayan ke Ram. World’s most loved Ram”.
BJP’s Rajendra Aggarwal, the sitting MP from Meerut and who has won from the seat three times, was denied a ticket this year. He can be seen supporting Govil’s campaign, accompanying him on road shows.
Speaking to ThePrint, Aggarwal said that he has represented Meerut thrice and it is time to bring in someone new. “There is enthusiasm among people. People are flocking to our side,” he said. In Meerut, voting will be held in the second phase on 26 April.
And though there is some resentment among party workers on the ground, they say they’re not angry. “We have given a chance to everyone by casting our vote, now let us give a chance to Shabari’s Ram. Jo Ram ka nahi, vo kisi ka nahi (whoever can’t belong to Ram, cannot belong to anyone). Modi has sent Ram among us,” said BJP worker Rajesh Sharma to ThePrint.
The youth’s response to Govil’s campaign is a little different — less reverential. They shake his hands instead of folding theirs, and joke with him good-humoredly.
According to Professor Pawan Kumar Sharma, head of department, political science, at Chaudhary Charan Singh University, for those who are around 50 years of age, Govil may be Ram, but the youth are looking at him as an actor and BJP candidate. “At present, there is a lot of awareness among the youth about rashtriya swabhiman (national self-respect). And the party from which Govil comes is doing the politics of rashtriya swabhiman. That’s why people are with them,” he said.
Also read: Why Ramdev’s legal setback in Patanjali ads case is unlikely to shake BJP’s support for him
Social engineering at work
The importance of Meerut is underlined by the fact that on 31 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had kickstarted BJP’s election campaign from here.
Meerut is considered the gateway to western Uttar Pradesh and, since 2009, this seat has been occupied by the BJP, but in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, though, the BJP’s margin of victory was close — Rajendra Aggarwal won by just 4,000 votes over the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate. The BSP, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) were in alliance during the last Lok Sabha elections.
But the equations on the ground have changed with the RLD now in alliance with the BJP.
During Govil’s road shows, supporters of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) — which is contesting in alliance with the BJP — have been playing their song ‘RLD aayi re’ (RLD is coming).
The RLD has a large support base among the OBC Jat community in Meerut, which accounts for about 7 percent of the constituency’s population, according to BJP leaders in the district. This is an essential votebank for the BJP that is trying to hold on to its OBC votebank for the upcoming elections.
Meanwhile Muslims constitute around one-third of the 18.9 lakh voters in Meerut, according to the Election Commission, who tend to vote for the SP.
Though Govil had released a video on Facebook Thursday, saying, “Be careful of those who want to divide you in the name of castes, we’re all brothers and sisters”, he has been visiting villages with a large population of Jatavs, Jats, Gurjars, Rajputs and Tyagis. This move aligns with the BJP’s strategy to maintain its OBC voter base in the constituency while also expanding its support across diverse caste groups. From a statue of Chaudhary Charan Singh to that of Bhimrao Ambedkar, he is garlanding them all.
A senior Meerut BJP leader, on the condition of anonymity, said to ThePrint, “It is very important to consider castes in elections. Since Govil has less electoral experience, experienced leaders of the state are deciding his programmes. If you combine his image as Ram with caste strategy, victory will be assured.”
There are a total of 27 Lok Sabha seats in Western Uttar Pradesh. In 2019, the BJP had lost seven of these to the RLD-SP-BSP alliance.
Prof Sharma said that despite caste being a big factor in Western UP, development has changed the way people think.
“In 2014 and 2019, too, the talisman of caste was broken in this area and mobilisation of votes took place in favour of one party. Also, social security has been strengthened. People now feel safer and development has reduced the distance of this area from Delhi,” he said to ThePrint.
Sharma says Meerut has traditionally been the seat of BJP and, in the past few years, the party has made a dent in the support base of other parties. “Now, if Muslim votes gets consolidated in this area, then all Hindu votes will consolidate in the BJP’s favour,” he said.
The SP, after changing its candidate twice, has fielded Sunita Verma, a Dalit, against Govil. The BSP has given a ticket to Devvrat Tyagi, with an eye on the Tyagi community votes. Tyagis comprise around 6 percent of Meerut’s population and Dalits around 15 percent.
SP is betting on the Muslim-Dalit combination since the communities together account for half the constituency’s population, while the BSP is trying to woo the OBC caste. But political analysts don’t predict any major division in the community votes that may hurt the BJP’s chances.
Also Read: In ex-UP DGP’s memoir, stories of secret meet with Gogoi before Ayodhya verdict & ‘rattling’ BSP
‘Wanted to do public service’
However, most of the village streets through which Govil passes were broken and drain water was scattered on them. Although Govil is speaking less on the issues during the campaign, but on the lack of cleanliness in the villages, he said, “Cleanliness is very important. Our villages should be clean. After winning, I will focus on working in this direction.”
During his campaign in Meerut, Govil repeatedly brought up his need to ‘serve’ the public by staying in Meerut.
“I served the society spiritually and culturally for years through Ramayan. But I thought, when I’m on my deathbed, I would want to be known for my public service,” he said to ThePrint.
He also spoke about the issue of cleanliness plaguing Meerut and said, “Cleanliness is very important. Our villages should be clean. After winning, I will focus on working in this direction.”
Govil’s Ramayan co-actors, such as Dara Singh, Arvind Trivedi and Dipika Chikhlia all became MPs in the past, but he maintained distance from politics till 2021, when he joined the BJP, two years after the Ayodhya dispute verdict.
Ramesh Chandra Bhardwaj, 70-year-old resident of Nangli Kithore village of Meerut, Thursday garlanded Govil and told him, “Even if you had not come to our village, we would have been with you. And now that you have come here, there is no question at all of you not winning.”
There is cynicism among BJP workers on the ground, though. Speaking to ThePrint, BJP worker Ravindra Singh said, “No matter who wins, they are not going to visit the constituency after elections. Just like Aggarwal. But on the ground, there are a few issues that are disturbing people. There is a big problem with stray animals in our area. No leader pays attention to it. We will vote and make him win in the name of Ram, but there is no guarantee that our problems will be solved.”
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: ‘Need 2/3rd majority to change or make new Constitution’ — BJP Ayodhya MP’s remark sparks row