Rebels, disgruntled ones pose challenge for parties on many Prayagraj seats
PRAYAGRAJ : Rebel candidates and those denied tickets could well multiply the challenges for political parties in the 2022 assembly elections of Prayagraj. With February 8—the last date for the fifth phase of nominations— approaching fast, the voices of rebellion are starting to get louder.
“Most of the leaders vying for tickets are in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) and so the voices of opposition are also rising the most in these two parties. Some of the leaders who are out of the ticket race have been successful in getting tickets from other parties while some are dissatisfied but are still staying in the party— both of whom could make things difficult for BJP and SP locked in a bitter face-off this time,” opines prof Pankaj Kumar, head of Allahabad University’s political science department.
Trouble within BJP
Bara MLA Ajay Kumar, who quit the BJP on February 2, has entered the poll fray on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket now. The BSP had earlier declared Shiv Prakash as its candidate from Bara but then Ajay Kumar was fielded by it after cancellation of Shiv Prakash’s ticket. Ajay Kumar had revolted because of the Bara seat being given by BJP to its ally Apna Dal (S). The ruling BJP has so far declared candidates on six seats. Two of its sitting MLAs Rajamani Kol (Koraon) and Vikramjit Maurya (Phaphamau) have been denied tickets. Aarti Kol, a former zila panchayat member, has been fielded from Koraon (SC) seat and Guru Prasad Maurya from Phaphamau seat. Guru Prasad Maurya has previously been a BSP MLA before the delimitation after getting elected from Nawabganj seat in 2007 and joined BJP in 2017.
There is also turmoil on the Allahabad North seat on which BJP has a sitting MLA Harshvardhan Bajpai. However, the party has yet to declare its candidate from the seat. There is also talk of BJP giving the seats of Karchana and Handia to its ally Nishad Party while handing over the seats of Bara, Pratappur and Soraon to its other ally Apna Dal (S). Devendra Pratap Singh, an advocate associated with the RSS for three generations, has announced his plan to enter the fray as an independent after Sidharth Nath Singh got the ticket from Allahabad West. Many BJP leaders are expressing their frustration on not getting tickets on social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter etc while some have distanced themselves from their areas of influence so as not to help the party garner vote and support.
Maximum dissent in SP The maximum opposition is visible within the Samajwadi Party (SP). SP leader Vachaspati has switched sides and joined the Apna Dal (S) and entered the poll fray from Bara after SP fielded Ajay Munna from the seat, while party’s former MP from Phulpur Nagendra Singh Patel is also contesting the polls from Chail seat of Kaushambi as an Apna Dal (S) candidate. The old guards, who are vying for SP ticket from the Allahabad West and the Allahabad South seats, are also protesting from roads to social media platforms. The SP has fielded Amarnath Maurya from Allahabad West and Raiish Chandra Shukla from Allahabad South.
Former SP MLA Haji Parvez Tanki, who had sought ticket from Allahabad South, recently held a meeting with hundreds of supporters and raised questions on the party’s policies and ticket distribution. Though he has not taken any decision yet but has openly adopted a rebellious attitude. On social media, he is raising questions about Raiish Chandra Shukla, the candidate who got SP ticket from Allahabad South. Babban Dubey had claimed ticket from Allahabad South and had even put up posters and banners in Muslim-majority areas. Now when the ticket has been denied, his supporters have come out in protest. On this seat, SP leader Salamat Ullah was also striving for a ticket.
Similarly, Richa Singh, who was the SP candidate from Allahabad West in 2017 election, is also opposing the decision of the party leadership denying her a ticket on Facebook.
BSP, Cong too facing internal oppn
There are many such faces in the BSP and the Congress too who were in line for tickets but feel cheated on being rejected. They have lodged protests within the party. For Allahabad North and Allahabad South seats, there were four such Congress aspirants who were continuously demanding tickets. The Congress has fielded Alpana Nishad from Allahabad South and Anugrah Narain Singh from Allahabad North leaving the aspirants disappointed. In seven seats, the party high command is still to open its cards.