Riding high on Modi mania, the Bharatiya Janata Party will try to regain its lost glory in Awadh region through a rally in Bahraich on Friday — which is again slated to be a complete sellout like the previous rallies in Kanpur and Jhansi.
Apt to the local political conditions that is dominated by backward caste the rally venue has been named as Raja Suheldev — a backward caste king and a revered name of this region who fought the dominance of Muslim rulers including Md Ghazni in 11th century.
But why this rally is being organised in Bahraich not in Faizabad — heart of Awadh regionIJ The question is potent and the party has its justification too. The party till date has stayed away from Ram Mandir issue and has projected Narendra Modi as a man who had ushered in development in Gujarat. As the area is craving for development the party decided to start its election campaign in Awadh region from lesser-known Bahraich.
The Awadh region that comprises Faizabad and Ayodhya has 16 lok Sabha seats including that of lucknow. In last 2009 elections, the Congress got the bulk of seats winning nine of them including that of Faizabad, Barabanki, Bahraich, Amethi and Rae Bareli. The Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party had won three each which the BJP had won just one — that too lucknow’s seats.
While in the 2012 Assembly elections out of the 82 seats, the BJP had won just around 10.
The backwards and upper castes of this region had one time supported the BJP but deserted party in last two elections. The party had won all the seats barring Ambedkar Nagar one time or the other but this support slowly waned. Firebrand BJP leader Vinay Katiyar contested elections from Faizabad, lakhimpur, Raebareli and even from Ambedkar Nagar in last four elections but lost all of them.