INDIA banks on Sachin Pilot, SP chief to win Gautam Budh Nagar
Star campaigners of opposition alliance INDIA [Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance], Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot are expected to campaign in Gautam Budh Nagar parliamentary constituency ahead of polling day on April 26, said SP spokesperson Pradeep Bhati.
The two leaders are going to address separate rallies in support of the alliance’s Gautan Budh Nagar candidate Dr Mahendra Nagar, Bhati said.
According to the schedule, Yadav will address a rally on April 19, at MS Inter college Sikandrabad, Bulandshahr.
Although Pilot’s visit is scheduled, party officials deferred from giving a particular date for his rally.
Yadav, these elections, has been seen promoting a non-yadav backward caste political outreach, said political experts.
According to them, he has been focussing more on “PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak or
OBC, Dalits and Minorities)” politics and is seemingly avoiding to place all bets on candidates of the Yadav community.
Out of the 62 seats from which Samajwadi Party is contesting, it has announced candidates on 57 seats and only four are from the Yadav community so far.
By bringing in Pilot for campaigning in Gautam Budh Nagar, INDIA alliance is aiming to make the most his “connect” to Greater Noida.
Alliance insiders said Pilot’s ancestral village is Vaidpura in Greater Noida and his rally in the district is being seen as a major effort to garner votes for the INDIA alliance from among the Gujjars.
However, political experts feel that SP’S or other parties tactic of not reaching out to any particular caste and remain all inclusive in their campaigns would prove to be a folly these elections.
“The fact is that regional parties are all about caste based politics, although not one of them actually talks of the politics of caste when they go to fight elections. But the underlying fact is that elections are won ultimately by the management of caste votes,” said professor Iqbalur Rehman, chairperson of political science department, Aligarh Muslim University.
“The SP in Uttar Pradesh have been able to manage caste politics in the state successfully until now but if they go on to fight the elections on policies, benefits and government schemes, I don’t think people will vote for them,” the professor said.
The SP is contesting 63 of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, while Congress is fighting on 17 seats. The SP has fielded former Congress leader Dr Mahendra Nagar from Gautam Budh Nagar. Nagar and his party are actively campaigning in the district but are abiding by the party policy to not target any particular community.
Nagar, who joined SP in 2022, said the BJP came to power after misleading the people of the country,
“They are engaged in exploiting the people. Be it the poor, farmers, labourers, women, youth, or businessmen, all sections are troubled today. The government is collecting GST on items of daily consumption, including food items, making them costlier. The price of diesel, petrol, etc. have increased drastically,” said Nagar.
SP spokesperson Pradeep Bhati said rather than a “blame game”, other parties should be concerned about issues such as unemployment, price rise and corruption in the Centre and UP.
“SP is working with the ideology of PDA and Akhilesh Yadav has stood for the people from all castes faith and religion,” Bhati said.
In the 2019 general elections, the BJP won 62 of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, while Mayawati’s BSP managed to secure 10 seats. SP won five seats while the Congress managed to win only one seat.
GREATER NOIDA’S VAIDPUR IS PILOT’S ANCESTRAL VILLAGE AND HIS RALLY IS AIMED AT WINNING OVER GUJJAR VOTES