In the five Assembly segments falling under Farrukhabad parliamentary constituency — represented by Khurshid in the Lok Sabha — the Congress may have to struggle to even open its account.
The battle here may spell a big embarrassment for Khurshid if his wife Louise, party candidate from Farrukhabad, fails to win.
Not only is the Congress trailing behind, but the BSP too has been struggling to retain its electoral base here this time. Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party candidates are frontrunners in the potato belt. In fact, BJP, which had not opened its account in Farrukhabad during the last Assembly elections, may bag at least two seats this time round.
Apparently, Khurshid’s recent controversial declaration backing sub-quota for Muslims and party general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s hectic campaigning has not quite shown results for the Congress.
One of the front-runners, Major Sunil Dutt Dwivedi, is BJP’s nominee from Farrukhabad. He is son of former BJP leader, the late Brahmdutt Dwivedi. Though, Dwivedi is contesting for the first time, his father represented the seat five times. Senior Dwivedi was a Minister in Uttar Pradesh Government during former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh regime. Experts predict a victory for him noting the considerable population of Brahmins (15 per cent) and Vaishyas (nearly 11 per cent) in the constituency.
Contrary to Khurshid’s plan, the issue of quota for Muslims may affect election results adversely as his attempt is doubted by minority voters and may even end up splitting them. “The timing of the announcement is bad. Instead of making such statements, he should have done something if he really cares for us. Moreover, such statements create a divide among people who have been living with harmony for years,” said a Congressman working closely with Khurshid.
He added that Khurshid’s public relations in his constituency had been disappointing. “Whenever people from Farrukhabad go to Delhi to meet him, they are ill-treated. They return dissatisfied,” he pointed out.
Besides, locals are concerned about lack of infrastructure and employment opportunities. S Shakya, a retired school principal, said, “Farmers — especially those who grow potatoes and own cold storages — have been suffering for years. The price of potatoes is very low. On the other hand, prices of fertilisers have increased rapidly in the recent past. Due to irregular power supply, cold storage owners have been suffering huge monetary losses along with farmers.”
After delimitation of the Farrukhabad Lok Sabha seat, part of Kaimganj — from where Louise would contest — was merged into Farrukhabad seat. Thereafter, she shifted base to Farrukhabad, the Law Minister’s ancestral home. Though Louise won Kaimganj in 2002, she lost to the BSP’s Kuldeep Gangwar in 2007.
SP has also fielded a woman, Urmila Rajput, considering the large presence of Muslims and Yadavs. Apart from this, amid the vociferous campaigning by leading parties, independent and former SP MLA from Farrukhabad Vijay Singh also enjoys noteworthy support. “He resigned from the Assembly and joined BSP after winning the 2007 election when BSP supremo Mayawati asked him to. But in the by-election, she ditched him and the ticket from the seat was given to Anant Mishra,” said an observer.
“In his (Vijay Singh’s) tenure, he has been an MLA earlier too and the area witnessed some development. Moreover, he also has the people’s sympathy this time. He may spring a surprise,” he added.
On the other hand, the BSP has fielded Mohammed Umar Khan from the seat in place of Anant Mishra, a sitting member of the Assembly and Health Minister in the State Government. Mishra is facing corruption charges.
In newly-carved Assembly segments Amritpur (created after scrapping Mohammadabad) and Bhojpur, BJP has nominated Sushil Shakya and Saurabh Rathore, respectively.
Amritpur is likely to see direct contest between BJP and SP’s Narendra Singh Yadav. Yadav is current MLA from the erstwhile Mohammadabad. However, BSP rebel Kuldeep Gangwar is also fighting on a Congress ticket. Gangwar had been denied a BSP ticket after delimitation. He is sitting MLA from Kaimganj.
However, BSP’s Mahaveer Rajput is facing the anti-incumbency wave riding high here. The presence of Jitendra Singh Yadav of Rashtriya Kranti Party (Kalyan Singh’s RKP) cannot be ignored as he is a Yadav.
In Bhojpur, there seems to be a close contest between BJP’s Saurabh Singh Rathore and Jamaluddin Siddque (SP), a former MLA. BSP’s Mahesh Singh Rathore and Congress’ Ramsewak Singh Yadav are muddying the waters for them.
In Kaimganj (reserved), it’s a triangular contest with BSP’s Anurag Singh Jatav, Ajit Kumar Katheria (SP) and BJP’s Amar Singh Khatik. The Congress has named Shakuntla Devi but she does not seem to be making much of a dent.
At Aliganj, Etah district, Dr Sanghmitra Maurya is BSP’s candidate. Daughter of BSP State president and Panchayati Raj Minister Swami Prasad Maurya, she was preferred over sitting MLA Avadhpal Singh, who is facing graft charges. Others are SP’s Rameshwar Singh, Ashok Ratan Shakya (BJP) and Congress’ Rajjan Pal Singh, who is lagging behind.
While Farrukhabad goes to poll on February 19, voting is on February 23 in Kaimganj.
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