Fourth round of elections in Uttar Pradesh will not only have BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s prestige at stake but also put the credibility of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s ‘secular’ image to test as the party will strive to win majority of seats in Central and Bundelkhand region that would go to polls on April 30.
This round of election will also seal the fate of presidents of the two national parties, Sonia Gandhi of the Congress and Rajnath Singh of the BJP. The seats where polling would take place on April 30 include lucknow, Rae Bareli, Kanpur, Dhauraura, Barabanki, Unnao, Mohanlalganj, Sitapur, Misrikh, Fatehpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, Hamirpur, and Banda.
In State capital, BJP’s national president Rajnath Singh is riding on popularity of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and is fighting the election under the shadow of the former PM. He is facing stiff challenge from former Chief Minister Hemwati Nandan Bhauguna’s daughter Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who lost to lalji Tandon by a narrow margin last time.The SP has fielded Abhishek Mishra, while Aam Aadmi Party put film star Jaaved Jaaferi, making it a multi-corner contest. To ensure that minorities vote would not consolidate against him, Rajnath also visited several Muslim clerics’ homes and sought their blessings.
Though Congress president would face little challenge to save her family bastion Rae Bareli, still she is not taking the polls lightly. Besides, she personally gave ample time to nurse her constituency, her daughter Priyanka Gandhi, campaigning for her mother in Rae Bareli, is also spending much time in solving the problems faced by the people.Another prominent seat is of Kanpur Nagar, where three-time Congress MP and Cabinet Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, is facing a close fight from BJP’s former national president Murli Manohar Joshi, who hit the headlines for taking on the BJP’s PM candidate, after he was forced to quit his sitting Parliament seat in Varanasi and had to file his papers from Kanpur. Interestingly, Joshi, who is riding on Modi’s popularity in Kanpur, is the first leader of the saffron party who went on record to deny party’s claim about so-called Modi wave in the country.
Elections in Jhansi also turned out to be very interesting as Congress candidate Pradeep Jain Aditya, who is also a Minister in Manmohan Singh’s Government, is trying to retain the seat after propagating separate Statehood for the Bundelkhand region. His rival is senior BJP leader Uma Bharti, and this time it would not be easy ride for him.
In Barabanki also, Dalit leader and former bureaucrat, Pl Punia, who enjoyed Cabinet Minister rank, is fighting tough this time as Modi effect is seen in the rural pockets also. The party candidate is leaving no stone unturned to somehow capitalise on it. Another Central Minister, Jitin Prasada, is in the contest from Dhaurahra, where he is confident of making it to the Parliament again on basis of work done by him during last five years.In Unnao, Anu Tandon of the Congress is facing a multi-cornered contest from BSP’s Brijesh Pathak, SP candidate Arun Shankar Shukla, a mafia -turned-politician and BJP’s candidate Sakshi Maharaj, another muscleman-turned-politician.
Misrikh Parliament seat of Sitapur is also set to witness an interesting fight between two brothers, Om Prakash Rawat, fielded by the Congress and JP Rawat by Samajwadi Party.In Banda, Congress candidate Vivek Kumar Singh is against dreaded brigand Shiv Kumar ‘Dadua’s brother, Bal Kumar Patel that too on the Samajwadi Party ticket.
