Lucknow: In the fifth phase of Assembly elections in UP, 61 seats from 12 districts, which include religious cities Ayodhya, Prayagraj and Chitrakoot, would vote on Sunday.
The ruling BJP is hoping the under-construction Ram Mandir will resonate with the voters; also, the development of temple towns as international tourist hubs.
But such is the dynamic of this phase that the problem of stray cattle has emerged as a big issue, much to the embarrassment of the Yogi Adityanath government. Vying for political space is the election plank of the Samajwadi Party – restoration of the Old Pension Scheme. Simultaneously, Unemployment and inflation are also begging the voter’s attention.
Stray cattle have become a headache for the BJP in eastern Uttar Pradesh, which has a much larger contingent of cows compared to the western parts, where buffaloes are preferred by farmers. But it is the restoration of the pension scheme that has caught the imagination of the 16 lakh government employees in the state. This could be a game-changer.
The SP’s announcement has caught the BJP off guard as there is a feeling in the saffron brigade that the promise could attract 12 to 14 lakhs voters in the state. There was some belated damage control exercise by the Yogi Adityanath government, which held a meeting with employees unions to convince them about the benefits of the National Pension Scheme. But they were unconvinced.
Interestingly, BSP chief Mayawati, taking a cue from SP, has also pledged to restore OPS. The Congress has promised a solution which is a cross between OPS and NPS.
Jat and Muslim voters had dominated the first phase; the minorities in the second phase; and there was a preponderance of Yadav and Lodh votes in the third phase; to that extent, the fifth phase is a mix of various backward communities and minorities.
The analysts dub it as a fertile region for Mandal (Backward) politics, but with Ayodhya, Chitarkoot and Prayagraj falling in this area, the BJP has been experimenting with the Kamandal (religious) card. The BJP has campaigned extensively in this phase highlighting the benefits it has extended to the poor through its welfare schemes. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad as well as the Ram Mandir Trust, too, campaigned for the BJP in Ayodhya and adjoining areas.
The voters of Amethi, Rai Bareili, Sultanpur, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Behraich, Shrawasti and Gonda would also cast their votes on Sunday. This round would seal the fate of many political heavyweights, including Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and five other ministers of the Yogi cabinet.
Former minister and leader of Jansatta Dal, Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiya, is contesting from his traditional seat of Kunda in this phase. The other prominent candidates are former King of Amethi estate, Dr Snajay Singh; UP cabinet minister Siddharthnath Singh from Prayagraj; minister CP Upadhyay from Chitrakoot; Rajendra Pratap Singh from Pratapgarh; and Prateek Bhushan, son of BJP MP Brijbhushan Singh, from Gonda city.
In the previous assembly election in 2017, the BJP had won 47 out of 61 seats in this phase, while in 2012 the SP had tasted success on 41. In 2017 assembly polls, the SP could get only five seats and the BSP three.
