In Mewat, these influencers can swing the poll

GURUGRAM: In the middle of the 17th Lok Sabha elections, Indians everywhere are debating choice and freedom. But about 100km from the national capital, voting has more to do with community than individual choice. Across Mewat , a Muslim-dominated region in Haryana, and India’s most backward district, discussions and debates are raging across panchayats, with village seniors gathering around community hookahs to decide which candidate they will support.

At their helm are the village headmen, or the thondas .


Residents of every Meo village TOI travelled to confirmed they let their thondas decide whom to vote . A senior government official who served in the district confirmed these local political agents play a significant role in deciding who gets the votes in Mewat.

Nasir Numberdar (44) is the thonda of village Malab. Not only is he a BJP supporter, but is also related to a party member who is likely to be the candidate in the assembly elections later this year. He told TOI he will make sure the majority of his village votes for the saffron party. “We have been talking to people about the work done by BJP, and should be able to influence at least 4,000 votes in BJP’s favour,” said Nasir.

The story is repeated across the region. In every village, male heads decide where the vote will go. Abdul, a farmer from Chokha Caha said voting for a chosen political party or candidate en masse is an old tradition. “Barring a few exceptions, around 90% of the villagers will vote for the same candidate. It’s expected that this collective decision can help us later,” said Abdul. Villagers hope that if they vote for a particular candidate, it might benefit their village if they win.

In all this, thondas become middlemen who serve both candidates and voters. While parties reach out to them to expand their voter base, voters reach out to them for advice and guidance in choosing the right candidate. “Almost all candidates reach out to us, offering the promise of solutions and development for the village. We then weigh our options before zeroing in on the candidate to support,” said Sahib Kalam, the thonda of Khanpur Ghati.

In the 2014 general elections, Mewat made headlines when the then AAP candidate Yogendra Yadav complained to the Election Commission that the INLD candidate had manipulated voting in about 150 booths, eventually leading to cancellation of polling in about 8-10 booths. “I’m not sure of the general trend but voting was definitely manipulated in 2014. For instance, one of the villages had reported 85% polling, but none of the women in the village had ink marks on their fingers,” said Yadav.

Some of the men TOI spoke to claimed they had cast the votes of women in their families. Some retracted the statement later, but agreed that women had no say in political decisions, which were all taken by men. “We’ll vote wherever our men tell us to vote. After all, what do we understand of politics,” said Arshida (28) of Punhana. According to locals, the only time women in the district voted as per their wish was when INLD candidate Tau Devi Lal contested, because he had rolled out a bunch of schemes for women.

The hold of thondas, though, is not as strong anymore, say Meos, mostly due to the rise in number of educated youth who want to make their own political choices. Besides, anti-incumbency sentiment against Rao Inderjit Singh could unite voters against BJP despite thondas’ opinions.