From demolition to campaign, bulldozers become party tool to pull crowds

Once just an innocuous piece of construction equipment and today a symbol of state power and politics, bulldozers are visible everywhere as campaigning hots up in Nuh. Not as a demolition tool but festooned, prettied up and embraced by all parties.

Young people sitting on dozer blades, dancing and showering petals on crowds gathered on the narrow streets below are a common sight. Bulldozers may have earned a bad name but clearly not in this Haryana constituency, counted among the most backward in the country, where they are being used to further the festive election mood.

The scene was very different just over a year ago when five people were killed in communal violence in the Muslim dominated constituency. The violence later spread to adjoining Gurugram where a cleric was killed in an attack on a mosque.

Following the violence, the BJP-led Haryana government went on a demolition drive in Nuh, drawing allegations of "ethnic cleansing". Then chief minister M L Khattar stoutly denied