With RLD out in Iglas, rivals vie to woo Jat voters
AGRA: Known for ‘Cham Cham’, a sweetmeat sold at shops here, the sleepy town of Iglas had its share of bitterness on the last day of nominations, when the paper of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) candidate (supported by Samajwadi Party) was rejected on technical grounds, leaving only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Congress in fray.
This may have blunted the competitive edge somewhat, yet the BJP is not taking any chances. Chief ministerYogi Adityanath has already addressed election rallies twice and promised a university in the name of local hero Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, stressing on the fact that it was the Raja who gave land for Aligarh Muslim University but there was no mention of this at AMU. Due to dominance of Jat voters, the Iglas seat is also termed by many as a ‘mini Chhaprauli’. Late Chaudhary Charan Singh’s wife Gayatri Devi and daughter Gyanwati Devi have won from this seat in the past. However, this election there would be no candidate from RLD at Iglas, now a reserved seat.
HISTORY
Located about 30 kilometres from Aligarh city, Iglas assembly constituency has experimented with a number of parties and candidates. Indian National Congress candidate Sheodan Singh won from here for the first time in 1951 but in the next two consecutive elections, independent candidates won till Congress candidate ML Gautam wrested the seat.
Gayatri Devi, wife of former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh, won for Bhartiya Kranti Dal in 1969 and her daughter Gyanwati Devi won for Janata Dal in 1991. Triloki Ram won the seat for RLD in 2012 but the BJP made a comeback and its candidate Rajveer Diler won in 2017. Diler moved to Hathras to contest Lok Sabha election for BJP and won, vacating the Iglas seat.
ISSUES
Purshottam Singh, a local Jat who owns a ‘samosa’ and tea stall on Iglas-Aligarh road, said, “I had sown bajra in six bigha which has been damaged by stray animals . These stray animals have changed the dynamics of agriculture everywhere.”
“Ye MBA pass hai aur samosa main aalu bhar raha hai,” (He has passed MBA and is filling potatoes in samosa), he said, pointing to his son to highlight unemployment. Still, he has no grudge against the BJP and poses a counter question: “Kya karen, kise vote den’ (what to do, whom to vote for) to express his dilemma. Iglas is not on train link and although the road towards Aligarh is in good condition, the same cannot be said about the road linking it with Hathras.
PARTIES IN FRAY
With the nomination of RLD candidate supported by the SP getting rejected, the parties in the race are BJP, BSP and Congress, besides a Lok Dal candidate and independents. RLD had won the seat twice in 2007 and 2012 but lost to the BJP during the Modi wave in 2017.
FGHT AHEAD
The BJP declared Rajkumar Sahyogi as its candidate at the last moment and he was accompanied by state cabinet minister Suresh Raina during nomination. The party is banking heavily on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath .
The BJP is also all out to consolidate Jat votes but is wary of the silence among them . “We are bringing up cow shelters to house stray animals and this would not be an election issue,” said BJP leader Preeti Chaudhary.
The Congress, banking on Umesh Diwakar, is looking for making inroads among the voters although the last time it won from Iglas was in 2002. ‘’People have tested the SP and BSP and are now fed up with the BJP. So they see hope in the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi which will bring us success,” said Pankaj Malik, in charge of Congress election.
BSP in charge of Hathras KS Vidhata is confident that Jat voters, angry over the way the nomination of RLD candidate was rejected, will group with the BSP to defeat the BJP. “Atal Bihari Vajpayee ended pension but Modi ended even jobs,” he mocked , saying that stray animal menace would be a major poll issue. Feeling left out after nomination rejection, RLD leaders call it a conspiracy by local administration at the behest of the BJP . “Democracy has been taken for a ride and a candidate is denied constitutional right to contest an election. Voters are angry and they will vote for any party in a position to defeat the BJP,” said Amit Thenua, district president of RLD youth wing.
LATE CHAUDHARY CHARAN SINGH’S WIFE GAYATRI DEVI AND DAUGHTER GYANWATI DEVI HAVE WON FROM THIS SEAT IN THE PAST.