Rivals eye SP votepie as battle for UP shifts East in last phases
141 SEATS TO GO In the 25 districts that will vote in the last three phases, SP bagged 87 seats followed by BSP with 17, the BJP with 16 and the Congress with 12 in 2012 elections
Uttar Pradesh, voting for which will be held in the remaining three phases beginning Monday, may prove to be the decider in an election which no one is willing to call.
As many as 141 constituencies spread across 25 districts are still to be voted for.
In 2012 state election, the Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 87 of these seats, Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 17, the BJP 16 and the Congress emerged victorious in 12 segments.
On Monday, the fifth phase, voting will be held for 52 seats in 11 districts. These districts include Amethi, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar (considered in central UP), and Bahraich and Shravasti in Terai region.
Amethi will perhaps be the most watched constituency. The Supreme Court recently ordered a gang-rape case against the sitting MLA, Gayatri Prasad Prajapati of the ruling SP.
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had dropped Prajapati from his cabinet on corruption charges but had to take him back allegedly under pressure from party patriarch and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Prajapati is up against Garima Sinh of the BJP and Congress’ Amita Sinh, who is the wife of senior Congress leader Sanjay Sinh. Garima is his estranged wife.
Though the SP and Congress have joined hands to contest the UP election, in Amethi they are locked in a “friendly contest”, which is being repeated in Gauriganj seat of the district.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi represents Amethi in the Lok Sabha. There are five assembly segments in it and the poll outcome will be closely watched.
Another candidate of interest in the fifth phase is Arun Kumar Verma, seeking a re-election from Sultanpur Sadar. Like party colleague Prajapati, Verma was recently booked in a murder case. Other prominent candidates in this phase include ministers Pawan Pandey (Faizabad), Ram Murti Verma (Akbarpur), Pandit Singh (Tarabganj in Gonda) and Shanklal Manjhi (Jalalpur). A total of 1.84 crore voters will decide the fate of 617 candidates in the fifth phase.
Of the 52 seats going to polls in this phase, SP had won 37, BSP 3, BJP 5, and Congress 5 in 2012.
The districts going to polls are Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Gonda, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Sultanpur, and Amethi.
LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘kabristaan- shamshan’ barb drew a sharp reaction from rival parties yet Rajesh Tripathi, the BJP candidate from Chillupar assembly seat in Gorakhpur district, is banking on shamshan ghat (cremation ground) to defeat his rivals.
Popularly known as ‘mashaan baba’ in the area, Tripathi is showcasing his effort to renovate a neglected cremation ground into a multi-purpose park.
Named Mukti Path, the cremation ground has become a popular tourist destination in the backward region of Barhalganj where people long for basic needs — bijli (power), paani (water) andsadak (road). Onlya few years ago, the cremation ground was considered an unlucky spot where villagers dumped garbage and used as an open lavatory.
Those who came with bodies had to clean the ground before performing the last rites.
“The plight of the people moved me. In 2001, I decided to convert the cremation ground into the most picturesque location in the district,” Tripathi said. He launched Mukti Path Sewa Sansthan to raise funds for the task. Apart from local people, Non Resident Indians (NRIs) of this region but settled in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States joined his initiative. Soon, Rs 3 crore was raised for renovation work.
After establishing Mukti Path, he decided to test the political waters. Tripathi contested the 2007 assembly election on the BSP ticket and turned out to be a giant killer, defeating Hari Shankar Tiwari, known for his muscle power and invincibility. BSP chief Mayawati rewarded Tripathi with a cabinet berth. Despite the SP wave in 2012 , Tripathi retained his seat, defeating Hari Shankar Tiwari again. This time, he is pitted against Hari Shankar Tiwari’s son Vinay Shankar Tiwari who is contesting on the BSP ticket.
Tripathi hopes people will send him to the assembly for the third time. “After becoming minister, I launched several development projects and organised Saryu Mahotsav at Mukti Path. Top artistes participated in the programme,” he said.