Poll strategy, anger over Covid led to SP’s good show: Experts
VARANASI: A combination of factors resulted in the Samajwadi Party’s (SP) good show in the three-tier panchayat elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s stronghold Varanasi and also in its own bastion Azamgarh, said political experts and citizens.
These factors include a concrete poll strategy, intensive door-to-door campaigning and people’s anger with the BJP government due to challenges caused by global pandemic, they added.
While the SP won 15 seats of zila panchayat members out of 40 in Varanasi district, the BJP could succeed only on seven seats, though it fielded candidates on all 40.
The Congress won five, the Apna Dal (Sonelal) two, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) one and Independents six.
Prof Raviprakash Pandey, former head of the department of sociology at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth (MGKV) in Varanasi, said, “Covid-19’s second wave has posed major challenges before the whole world, including India. The health infrastructure and resources available in the country proved insufficient due to the sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases. It led to anger among the people with the BJP government. In view of the present situation, the voters in many pockets voted against the BJP candidates. As a result, the SP did well and the BJP lagged behind.”
Nevertheless, the BJP won about 750 seats in the state and this meant that the BJP had been successful in maintaining its credibility despite many challenges, added Prof Pandey.
“As for the success of the SP in Azamgarh, that is the party’s stronghold,” Pandey added.
Pappu Mishra, resident of Sarnath in Varanasi, said, “The BJP government is working for all. Five big hospitals, ring roads and three STPs were built in Varanasi in the last five years. But the second wave of Covid proved deadly. Due to a sudden spurt, there was a shortage of beds in hospitals and the oxygen crisis also happened. It triggered anger among the people. As a result, they voted against the ruling BJP candidates in the panchayat (elections).”
On the other hand, Kashi-based senior BJP leader and UP BJP spokesperson Ashok Pandey said, “BJP has won the maximum number of zila panchayat seats in the state. In Varanasi, the party workers worked hard. Despite that, the results have not been as desired. We will analyse the causes.”
Achche Lal Yadav, resident of Jaunpur, said the BJP’s poll machinery was busy in the West Bengal assembly elections and its local leaders failed to connect with the voters in the rural pockets here.
On the other hand, the SP campaigned vigorously and developed a bond with voters in the rural pockets, he said. The hard work by local SP workers brought them success in the panchayat polls, he added.
Samajwadi Party’s Varanasi district unit vice-president Sanjay Mishra said, “Party (SP) workers worked hard at the grassroots level and helped people in the pandemic. In contrast, the ruling BJP workers made only hollow promises. Everyone knows the condition of the hospitals. Covid patients are not getting beds. Many people struggled to get their ailing kin admitted to the hospitals.”
The people gave a befitting reply to the BJP in the three-tier panchayat election because the BJP government failed in controlling the Covid-19 spread, he said.
Senior SP leader and MLC (Member of Legislative Council) Lal Bihari Yadav said, “The BJPled state government is antifarmer, anti-student and anti-teacher. It has also failed in controlling the spread of the coronavirus disease. People are struggling for beds and oxygen. People are very angry with the BJP because it came to power making tall promises and failed to fulfil them.”
Yadav, who belongs to Azamgarh, claimed 55 SP-backed candidates were elected as zila panchayat members out of 84 seats in Azamgarh district.
But Varanasi-based senior BJP leader Ashok Pandey said, “The BJP has won 11 zila panchayat seats in Azamgarh, which the Samajwadi Party always calls its stronghold. The SP could win only 12 zila panchayat seats, 51 independents emerged victorious and 10 seats were bagged by the BSP. Now the SP leaders are claiming many Independent winners as the SP backed candidates.”