Business in Varanasi in bad shape: No walkover for PM Modi just yet

“GST broke the backbone of Banarasi saree business. In the name of promoting Banarasi silk brocades industry and the weavers, the Modi government constructed a palatial ‘Facility Centre’, 30 km away from the city and offered shops to the traders at subsidised rates. A week-long ‘Pravasi Bharatiya’ jamboree was held for NRIs during which traders and weavers of silk brocades were told to showcase their products. We brought silk brocades worth crores of Rupees to display in our shops there but there was no sale,” said Ateeq Ansari, who owns a Banarasi Saree business.

“The Modi government’s move to stop export of fabrics made on powerlooms to Bangladesh has dealt a death blow to the business. Nearly 25 per cent of the production of fabrics made on powerloom and handloom used to be exported to Bangladesh via Kolkata. Not any more. Weavers are starving and forced to eke out their living by working as labourers,” said Ansari.

“Business in Banaras is in deep trouble. Many traders have had to shut their shops,” said Shailendra Morolia, who owns a shop of materials needed for various religious rituals. “Hundreds of families around the Vishwanath temple lived on small shops that sold various types of merchandise. They were each given Rs 1 to 2 lakh as compensation towards the buildings acquired and demolished by the government for the Vishwanath corridor. With that money, they cannot relocate to another place and start a new business,” he explained.

Brahmins, who traditionally performed puja and conducted religious rituals, too have suffered on account of the government-sponsored commercialisation of the pilgrimage business. There are over 200,000 Brahmin voters in and around Banaras city. “They are disillusioned with Modi. They have been loyal supporters of the erstwhile Jan Sangh and the BJP. They can’t vote for any other political party. So, many of them will either abstain from voting or opt for NOTA,” said Shailendra Dwivedi.

Voicing the concern of Sanatani Hindus is Swami Avimukteshwaranand whose disciple Swami Bhagwan Brahmachari’s nomination for contesting the election has been rejected by the returning officer on some technical ground. Swami Avimukteswaranand has left his ashram and is campaigning door-to-door against Modi.

Those who want to see the defeat of Modi see the division of opposition votes as a major problem. The contest in Varanasi has become triangular with the Congress’ Ajai Rai and Samajwadi Party’s Shalini Yadav in the fray. Underworld don Atiq Ahmed, an independent, has announced to withdraw from the fray after his appeal for release on parole was rejected. Had he remained in the fray, he would have caused division in Muslim votes who number around 200,000.

“Muslim votes won’t get divided this time. They will vote for the candidate who they think had better chance of defeating Modi. Since Shalini Yadav, who recently switched over from Congress to Samajwadi Party, is considered a weak candidate, Muslims may back Ajai Rai who has had a long experience in electoral politics,” said Showaib Khan, a retired college teacher.

Ajai Rai hopes to improve his electoral prospects with the visit of Priyanka Gandhi to the constituency where she plans to hold a road show on May 15 and stay for two days thereafter. “Priyanka’s presence will galvanise the youth, Brahmins and also win the fence-sitters,” said Muniza Khan, a social activist.

Contrary to the buzz in the media, it’s not a walkover yet for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For one, it is not 2014 when the people of Varanasi fell for Modi’s promise of ‘Achchhe Din’, of ushering in a new India free of corruption, wiping out black money, bringing back billions stashed in foreign banks by corrupt politicians and deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every citizen, turn Kashi into Kyoto, purify Ganga to restore its pristine glory, create two crore jobs for the youth every year by encouraging handicraft, cottage and small industries and revive the dying handloom and silk brocades.

What the people got during the five years of Modi government was Demonetisation followed by a shoddy Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, resulting in large scale unemployment, closure of cottage and small industries, a great slump in trade and commerce. In Varanasi, Modi’s zeal for commercialisation of pilgrimage translated into mass destruction of heritage residential buildings and shops, rendering thousands of people homeless and jobless. Nothing was done to clean the Ganga which has shrunk and stinks like sewage.

There were long-drawn out protests by traders against GST, dharnas under the banner of ‘Dharohar Bachao Samiti’ (Save the heritage committee) by those whose age-old residential buildings were acquired and razed to the ground to make way for ‘Vishwanath Corridor’ and ‘Ganga Pathway’, and the strike by boatmen whose livelihood, dependent on pilgrims and tourists, was threatened by the introduction of cruise ships and motor boats.