Chapter 441 What I Said
In early September, the second round of the general election began.
The state elections here in Mumbai and the national elections started almost simultaneously.
Jogeshwari was bustling again on election day. Although it was drizzling, it could not dampen the enthusiasm of the voters who flocked to the election.
The staff of the campaign office took their positions, tore off small ballots and handed them to the voters.
Kamat took Girish to mobilize for voting, so Amol and they once again went into the slums.
Mr. Suhr has instructed us to observe the public sentiment in this election.
Kamat knew everyone there. He and Girish greeted the Gujaratis in Gujarati: "Hello!" They spoke Hindi to the Biharis and Marathi to their fellow countrymen.
They urged people to vote quickly, "Vote for the one with the bow on the side," they instructed.
More than half of the country's population is illiterate, and simply telling them the candidates' names won't work.
Walking through the slums that day, Amol was struck by an unusual silence and realized that apart from the occasional All India Television and Sun TV programs, almost no one watched television.
Kamath temporarily shut down his cable TV network just to give people time to vote.
"Kamat, please give us some shows!" an old man begged.
"Wait until you vote," he replied.
When several people returned to the polling station, a Shiv Sena leader was discussing with Kamat: another round of voting mobilization should be conducted after lunch.
By that time, the ticket inspector will be able to count who has voted and who has not based on the list in hand.
"Four or five people are not enough, we need a group of brothers," Kamat suggested, using the word "brothers" in English.
"Okay, I'll call my brothers." The little leader said with certainty.
This group of "brothers" would return to the slums and knock on doors, intimidating anyone who did not vote.
"It's just to create some tension," Kamat explained.
Despite being a rival, Kamath has a close relationship with the Congress candidate from the nearby constituency.
The man's name is Mama, he is in the cable business and is the leader of Rajan Jr.'s gang.
Mama, now in his thirties, was born in Mumbai, where his father migrated as a child from the caste-conscious north.
Mama is from a low caste, but Mumbai, where heroes don't ask questions about their origins, gives him and his family a new life.
"In the countryside, the lower castes are only fit to work like slaves for the higher castes. Here, the lower castes can still be the kings and dominate the world," Mama said proudly.
By playing politics, the lower castes took control of the city.
Mama explained the pros and cons to the donors who provided him with political donations.
"Give me five lacs today," he told a construction contractor. "After I'm elected, I'll return the money to you within five days and immediately approve your contract to build public toilets."
Kamat scoffed, saying that Mama's promise to his voters was: "If you vote for me, you won't have to pay protection money."
As the gang leader, Mama promised that anyone who surrendered to him in the constituency would be protected by him.
Since the police are incompetent and unable to stop the gangsters from extorting local residents, it would be better to elect the gangsters themselves as their leaders.
You still have to pay protection fees, so it’s better to spend money to buy peace.
Well, this shock therapy may not be a bad idea.
In the last general election, after the bombings, it was for the same reason that 5 percent of the herders voted for their sworn enemy, the Shiv Sena.
Meanwhile, a friend who worked in advertising photography at Malabar Hill called Amol.
He said he planned to vote for once in his life, and as an elitist, he had never cared about these things before.
"I'm right where your family used to live," he said on the other end of the phone. The polling station was at Walsingham Girls' School.
"There are two ballot boxes in front of me. One is written with the House of the People and the other is written with the Rajya Sabha. Which one is the central government and which one is the state government?" He asked Amol in great confusion, having no knowledge of election common sense.
The simultaneous holding of national and state elections has left many people scratching their heads.
In Jogeshwari, no one asks such questions. The poor are very enthusiastic about voting in elections because it affects their livelihoods.
If you ask Mama, who do you think Bombay belongs to? The rich people of Malabar Hill, or the Marathi people who are now singing the praises of their liberated serfs?
He’ll laugh and tell you: “Mumbai belongs either to those who eat vadas or to no one.”
Neither the Shiv Sena nor the Congress Party can influence the minds of more than 10 million people.
Over the years, Mumbai has held three general elections, part of India's painful but relentless efforts to demonstrate its commitment to democracy.
It must prove again and again: We are a democracy.
The patience of the people of this country is truly amazing.
Year after year, with no choice and no regrets, they fulfill their obligation to vote.
In 1991, 57% of Indians voted. In 1996, turnout rose by one percentage point. By last year, it had risen further, with 62% of India's 600 million people exercising their right to vote.
What was the significance of the 1999 Indian general election? Despite huge sums of money and scorching summer heat, the same few faces were still in power in Delhi.
There were rumors that no one would vote this year and that there would be a boycott in India, but in the end, turnout in early September only dipped slightly.
People still endured the high temperatures and lined up in long queues in front of polling stations.
This may be the fate of this Indian nation.
People don't ask why they vote, they just vote.
At the end of September, the voting results came out, and the Shiv Sena, which had ruled Mumbai for nearly a decade, lost the election.
The BJP won the Lok Sabha election, the national election, again, and they tightened their grip on power.
No one was surprised by the defeat of the Shiv Sena and the BJP in Maharashtra.
They had promised voters in slums that they would build four million homes for the benefit of the public, but in the end they built fewer than four thousand.
The people who ate the vadas abandoned them, and it had nothing to do with violence or religious beliefs.
For most people, what they really value is still what allows them to make a living.
However, the Shiv Sena was once again caught in a tense atmosphere because the Congress Party, which had just come to power, was bringing up the Sri Krishna investigation report again.
The report was about the 1992 Mumbai riots, and Thackeray faced fourteen charges.
On Saturday evening, Amol received a call from Kamath, who said he and his men would seal off Mumbai.
At an evening meeting of the Shiv Sena branch, they received news that Thackeray would be arrested the next morning.
Amor could hear the angry roar of the tiger army in the background.
He also felt a new vitality from Kamat on the other end of the phone, and everything seemed to have returned to the past.
The next day, Kamat called from time to time to inform Amol of the latest progress.
He and his men were sent to Goregaon, while the Goregaon branch came to Jogeshwari.
This way, the local police, who have always been their enemies and friends, will not be able to recognize them.
When Kamat's men launched a general strike, the two hundred Gorgaon police could only watch from the sidelines, shouting in vain and threatening to write down the names of Kamat and others and arrest them.
Kamat's team stopped a bus and the driver told the passengers to get off immediately, and then had to watch the vehicle burnt to the ground by the Shiv Sena.
The team also walked into a store with a whole glass wall and threatened the owner that if he did not close the store immediately, they would smash the glass wall with stones.
In order to avoid greater economic losses, the shop owner had no choice but to do as he was told and pull down the shutter door.
Nearly 800 Shiv Sena troops fanned out across Jogeshwari, stopping trains and forcing taxis and autorickshaws out of business.
They stormed the local bus terminal, where the station manager came out in person and pleaded with the Shiv Sena to show mercy and allow him to recall all buses.
In this way, the entire city of Mumbai was paralyzed.
Seeing that civil war seemed to be imminent, the desperate Thackeray found Ron again.
This time he was more reserved, no longer mentioning the importance of the election or their close relationship.
He had to bow his head. It would be a real joke if a Shiv Sena leader was thrown into jail.
This is not only a matter of face, but also of Thackeray's dominance over the Shiv Sena.
Those hot-tempered young people may riot in Mumbai again for him, but then Thackeray will no longer be the big boss they follow to the death.
Power, no man will give it up easily, especially when you once held it, ravaged it, and dominated it...
"Ron, if I go in, there will be no one to control the Shiv Sena. The whole of Bombay will be in chaos, even war. Yes, a civil war. By then, there will definitely be riots."
Thackeray's tone was calm; he didn't raise his voice or threaten, simply stating what he was sure would happen.
"Then you will know that what I said today is true. God bless you, I don't want war to happen, but I also know it will happen. The herdsmen will rush in, not just from Bombay, but from all over India, and then it will be a fierce war across the country."
"Do you know what the problem is?" Ron, who was standing in front of the window, turned around.
"What?"
"The Shiv Sena is too fond of violence. If you rely on it, you will eventually be controlled by it."
"But we had to do this. Those lunatics had guns and ammunition. If it weren't for my men, I'm sure the Hindus would have been killed by the herdsmen long ago."
“If a civil war as you say occurs, what does the Shiv Sena intend to do?”
"We will fight with all our might. We have to fight for India. Revenge is our birthright," he vowed.
"You underestimate New Delhi and overestimate Pojun." Ron shook his head.
"Looking across India, only the Shiv Sena dares to openly challenge the herders." Thackeray was unconvinced.
"Before either of you can even start a fight, there will be tens of thousands of police officers to keep you grounded. A so-called civil war won't happen, I say."
Thackeray choked, still feeling somewhat unwilling.
"What happens after that? Without the Shiv Sena, who will help you keep an eye on the herders, and who will help you deter the scoundrels?"
Ron looked out the window in silence for a long time before he tilted his head slightly.
"Go back. The judge in Bombay won't do anything to you. I said that, too."
Thackeray felt relieved immediately. He raised his hands and clasped them together, then hurriedly said goodbye.
(End of this chapter)
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