Udaipur Sitting in the family’s narrow two-storey home in the Govardhan Vilas area of Udaipur, Yash Sahu could be just another 21-year-old, his hair flowing down to below the nape of his neck, his feet bare. Yet, in his mind, his body is a symbol of quiet protest; a reminder that justice has not yet been done.

In June 2022, Kanhaiya Lal Sahu was at his small tailor shop in the Hathipol area of the city, when two men, Mohammed Riyaz Attari and Ghaus Mohammed entered the premises, pretended to get measurements done, and attacked him with a knife, hacking him mercilessly. The killing was captured on camera, and in a chilling video claiming responsibility hours after the attack, the two men said that they had committed the act because they had been angered with Sahu’s alleged support of BJP leader Nupur Sharma, then suspended for controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad.

As the country dealt with the shock of watching repeated visuals of the attack, and a bevy of politicians met the victim’s family to commiserate, compensate and promise justice, Yash Sahu resolved to stop cutting his hair or wear shoes till the two men, now in Ajmer jail, are hanged. Sahu said, “I feel his absence all the time. Sometimes I need guidance, and I don’t know who to turn to. He was just a soft target.”

But as elections have approached, Yash Sahu has replayed the version of events over and over again in his mind. He is still not clear how his father, largely unfamiliar with social media, liked Nupur Sharma’s post. He remembers a Muslim tailor asking his father to remove the post, and the FIR that was registered against him. He remembers his father being picked up by the police and being released on bail. He remembers the threat calls and the messages; approaching the administration for protection; shutting the shop for a few days before a compromise was reached; and the murder the day Kanhaiyalal returned to work on June 28.

Their lives changed forever. A film is now being made on the murder, and both sons, 21 and 19, were given government jobs as well as compensation of ₹50 lakh. But they are still waiting what they see as the only commensurate justice available. “Many leaders, parties and organisations have helped us and we are thankful. We have got compensation but we have not got justice. Chief Minister Gehlot had assured us that the culprits would be hanged in three months. We don’t want any politics over the death of our father. We only want justice,” Sahu said.

Yet, with days to go for crucial assembly elections in Rajasthan scheduled for November 25, Kanhaiya Lal’s death is now a key political plank. On Thursday, at a rally in Udaipur, Prime Minister Modi said that the murder was a blot on the Gehlot led Rajasthan government, and had occurred as a result of the Congress sympathising with terror, and their policy of appeasement.

On the ground, some concur that the incident has led to a cleavage in society that will have electoral repercussions. Sanjay Chaturvedi, a resident of Udaipur who runs a business of herbal products said, “The state government did not handle the issue properly but is quick to blame the centre. People may not say it openly but they do feel angry and afraid. There is a trust deficit between the two communities.”

Senior journalist Kunjan Acharya said that there was some impact of the incident as a poll issue. “In the back of people’s minds, they remember the barbaric crime. The BJP is consistently raising this as the failure of a weak Congress government failing to control terrorism, and presenting themselves as an alternative that will be tough on these elements,” he said.

A third resident of the city, Ghanshyam Singh Rao, however, said: “The events of that day will not have much impact on voting because people are satisfied with the action against the accused and both of them are behind bars. The trial is on and people have faith they will be punished.”

The 8 seats in the Udaipur Lok Sabha constituency are a key battleground for both the Congress and the BJP, with the latter winning 7 of the 8 seats on offer in the 2018 elections, despite the Congress eking out a win. In the 2021 bypolls, the Congress tally in the parliamentary constituency went up to 2 after they won the Dhariawad assembly constituency.

The Congress has used the claim that both Attari and Ghaus Mohammad were linked to the BJP, based on reported photographs that had emerged that showed them next to senior BJP leader from Udaipur and now Assam governor Gulab Singh Kataria. Udaipur Congress president Fateh Singh said, “The people of Udaipur cannot forget Kanhaiya Lal’s murder. But they also know who did it and the accused were BJP workers.”

Rajasthan BJP president CP Joshi however rejected these allegations completely and said, “They have nothing to do with the BJP. Kataria ji will have attended so many programmes and rallies and anyone can come and click pictures with him.”

Joshi said that for the BJP, the killing was not merely a poll issue, but a living symbol of the failure of the Congress. “They are responsible for his murder. After getting threats, he sought police protection but they took the matter lightly. They got the two sides to arrive at a compromise but did not go to the root of the matter. And when Sahu opened his shop, he was hacked to death,” Joshi said.