'Will vote for any party that can beat BJP': Aligarh lock maker Naseem Akhtar

Elections are not just about politicians. They're about people and issues. And what will really drive their vote.

Catch is, therefore, starting a 'People of UP' series, which will capture what different impact groups across the state are feeling. This is true insight on the Uttar Pradesh election: up-close and hyper-personal.

Locks made in Aligarh were once the byword for security. Today, there's just one purpose left for those locks - to shut the shops they were made and sold in. And it's all thanks to demonetisation.

Naseem Akhtar owns a small lock manufacturing business in Aligarh's Usman Para. He employs about 10 people. But today, he can barely afford to pay his workers, because of how hard the business has been hit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's note ban.

"The note ban has further reduced BJP's chances of winning in Uttar Pradesh," Akhtar says.

Akhtar feels that the BJP has spent the last 2.5 years in spreading communalism. "BJP is the last party we want to see in Uttar Pradesh," he says.

However, in today's scenario, he feels that no party is faithful or loyal to Muslims. "We are nothing but a vote bank for political parties during elections. So they try to appease us or woo us. The rest of the time, we have no one," he says.

Even so, Akhtar is supporting the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance, and saying it is the best choice for Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.

"You have to understand that we Muslims vote based on which party will be the least harmful to us. In the present conditions, it is the alliance. We are voting for the alliance because they have the best chance of defeating the BJP, and we will vote for anyone who can defeat the BJP," says Akhtar.