UP's poster boy: Faizan who met Rahul Gandhi

Newada, Eastern UP: Nobody knows Faizan Ahmed in Newada, the village, going to polls on Saturday. “Faizan who met Rahul Gandhi,” I say. A crowd of 20 accompanies me to a kachha house in the Eastern Uttar Pradesh hamlet, 30 kilometers from Azamgarh city. Faizan Ahmed, 25, has become the face of weavers (locally known as bunkar) in the current Uttar Pradesh elections. While talking about the plight of weavers in his election rallies, Rahul Gandhi makes it a point to mention Faizan. “I asked Faizan what should be done and he suggested ensuring that all the money was directly transferred to their bank accounts,” Rahul said at public meeting in Azamgarh Sadar. It was on Faizan’s advice, Gandhi has been saying, that in last November, the union government announced Rs 6234 crore package for over 13 lakh handloom weavers of Uttar Pradesh. The idea is to cut middlemen and give loan directly to the weaver. In Uttar Pradesh, almost 70 percent of the weavers are Muslims, a crucial vote-bank in the current poll. Weavers have a solid presence in the eastern Uttar Pradesh region, also known as Poorvanchal. The belt includes Varanasi, Mubarakpur, Jahangunj and Khalilabad. “Yes, I told him about the issues we face,” says Faizan, while working on the handloom unit in his house, now a landmark in the hamlet — predominantly made of weavers. [caption id=“attachment_209219” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Faizan is an expert in making Banarasi saris. His output is three saris a week. Each finished sari fetches him Rs 100. Naresh Sharma/Firstpost”]  [/caption] The room where we talk has a 100 watt bulb, two functioning handloom units, one defunct unit, two cots and a gathering of villagers, which keeps on increasing as I talk to the man of the moment. There is a sense of calm and ease on Faizan’s face when he talks about his 19 July meeting with Gandhi, which has made him the poster boy of Uttar Pradesh elections. As if it was a meeting with one of his pals. “We sat right here,” he says pointing to the cot, sitting on which, the duo discussed the policies which would change the fate of Uttar Pradesh’s weaver community. Faizan is an expert in making Banarasi saris. His output is three saris a week. Each finished sari fetches him Rs 100. “This bloody thing sucks your blood,” he thrashes the handloom unit. During the 90-minute discussion, Faizan ran Gandhi through the problems faced by weavers - increasing prices of thread, manufacturers replacing handloom with power-loom and the presence of middlemen who do not let the money reach to the weavers. The result, says Waseem, a fellow weaver, is that many weavers are opting out of the profession. “The youth of Mubarakpur (the city in which Faizan’s village falls) are going to the Gulf in search of work. It is a new phenomenon”, he adds. On 7 August, Faizan participated in a meeting in Delhi attended by weavers from across the country. “I told Mukherjee about the issue. I also feel that he should work on his Hindi”, says the father of three year old, referring to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who hosted the meet. In November, the Centre announced the package for weavers. Under the scheme, a weaver can take a loan of Rs 2 lakh on an interest of three percent. A month later, the Union Cabinet cleared Rs 2350-crore package for handloom weavers. But then Mubarakpur and its weavers are not new to such sops, precisely the reason why Faizan ignored Congress men who met him last July. They wanted him to mobilise villagers for a Congress meet. Faizan gave them a stern warning - don’t announce any schemes for weavers. “All my life I have seen politicians announcing schemes,” he says. But then he met whom he calls the ‘future prime minister’. Life is different now. Faizan and his fellow weavers believe that the scheme would work because it aims at direct transfer of money to the weaver. “Rahul Gandhi does not lie. I can take his guarantee. We discussed things here. When went to meet Mukherjee, exactly the same points were included in the policy,” says Faizan. About Congress policies and particularly about Rahul Gandhi, Faizan talks like a veteran Congressman. In the capacity of a Congress worker, he has delivered election speeches at Katra and Islapur areas of Mubarakpur. “No other party stands a chance in Mubarakpur,” he declares. So, when is your next meeting scheduled with Rahul? “He wanted to meet me. I said no meeting before elections. I have to look after my constituency," says Faizan.