The youth brigade highlighted ‘Hindu migration’ from western UP duringthe assembly polls; some suspect it was a publicity stunt by a BJP candidate.
New Delhi: Soon after assuming office in January this year, US President Donald Trump announced a ban on Muslim immigrants. While the move had earned him fierce criticism from within and outside the US, it had found takers in an unlikely location — Pilkhuwa near Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
Ahead of the UP assembly election, a youth brigade that curiously called itself ‘Trump Sena’ made headlines in Pilkhuwa of Hapur district by raising the issue of “migration” of Hindus from western UP due to alleged atrocities by Muslims.
Although the new outfit seemed to have come up with the election pitch for the BJP, locals now say that the Trump Sena was nothing but a publicity stunt that vanished without a trace.
On 3 February, youngsters wearing masks of Trump thronged an election rally being addressed by BJP chief Amit Shah in Pilkhuwa, which comes under Dhaulana assembly seat. The BJP had fielded four-time MP Ramesh Chand Tomar from this seat.
The young volunteers claimed that they were inspired by Trump’s decision to ban immigration from Muslim countries and they had formed this new outfit to stop migration of Hindus from the western UP region.
Apparently sensing that the issue raised by the Trump Sena could further consolidate its position in UP, the BJP was quick to seize the opportunity. So much so that Yogi Adityanath, then an MP, had praised Trump’s decision and supported similar action to contain terrorist elements in Indiawhen he addressed a rally in Bulandshahr.
That the Trump Sena created a little buzz initially could be gauged from the fact that the national media covered it extensively although no oneknew much about its leader. Sources told ThePrint that there was no such outfit on the ground and it was just a publicity stunt created on behalf of Dhaulana BJP candidate Ramesh Chand Tomar.
“As part of their election coverage, journalists from the national media were heading for Kairana and Shamli, from where some Hindu families had reportedly migrated. They had no plans to cover Dhaulana. The Trump Sena was propped up to draw media attention to Dhaulana and BJP candidate Ramesh Chand Tomar,” said a source who worked in the publicity team of Tomar.
The source added that some youngsters from Ghaziabad were roped in to pose as members of the Trump Sena for Amit Shah’s rally. However, the “plan” failed to ensure victory for Tomar, who lost the seat to BSP candidate Aaslam Choudhary by around 3,500 votes.
Another source claimed that Tomar was initially not aware of this media strategy, which was being handled by his son Vikas and his team.
Ramesh Tomar did not respond to calls from ThePrint seeking his comment.
“I don’t know who they were and where they came from,” son Vikas said. “They just vanished without a trace. Even I am looking to find out who they were. Some of the Trump Sena members had shared their visiting cards with me but I lost them in the election rush.”
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Ramesh Tomar had filed his nomination as a Congress candidate from Gautam Buddh Nagar. But a few days before the polls, he joined the BJP, causing a huge embarrassment to the Congress.