The red and green flags of Samajwadi Party dot the skyline as one drives down from Jaswant Nagar in Etawah to Kannauj. The skyline is interspersed with saffron flags of BJP or the blue BSP flags. But missing is Congress presence in this region. No one is even ready to talk about the grand old party of India.
“Where is Congress here IJ Why should one put up Congress flag atop our houses,” asks local merchant Rinku Yadav, who had come to attend the poll meeting of Shivpal Singh Yadav which was also addressed by his elder brother Mulayam Singh Yadav at Hindu College in Jaswant Nagar.
Rinku is a Shivpal Yadav supporter and admitted that they have not invited Congress. “Why should we IJ If they want they can join us. We do not need their support. Without Congress help, ‘mantri ji’ (Shivpal Yadav) will win this election with a record margin,” he said.
Congress and Samajwadi Party have entered into a alliance which means that workers of both parties should take active role in joint rallies and flags of both parties should be visible in the rally ground.
A B Tech student from a private college in Agra Shabbir Hussain had a hearty laugh and asked: “Are you talking about Congress here IJ You must be kidding. This is Yadavland where Congress is just a non-entity.”
And he is not off the mark.
Congress lost its relevance after 1989 when it lost its Muslim vote back to Samajwadi Party and Dalit support to BSP. As Mulayam Singh Yadav increased his political fiefdom over the area spanning from Etah to Kannauj and Mainpuri to Budaun, Congress was slowly elbowed out of the region.
Septuagenarian Manoj Mishra is a Congress supporter and was also an office-bearer in Kannauj Congress Committee but he is peeved by the present scenario. “The alliance between Congress and Samajwadi Party is a death knell for the party in this region. Can you imagine we do not have presence in around 70 Assembly segments now. The party workers are dejected and are sitting at home. They are not taking part in this election campaign,” he said.
The Congress office in Kannauj wore a deserted look. A peon was sitting outside the office and on seeing a white car, he ran down and shouted, “Koi nahi hai.”
When asked where we could meet the leaders, he drew a blank. “Sab apne ghar pe honge au kahan (all of them would be at their home where else),” trudging back to his chair.
Another Congress sympathiser Satish Dubey said that had the party fielded candidate from Kannauj, they would have been active. “The development is requiem for the party in this area,” he said.
So in the present scenario where will the Congress votes go.
“I can vouch that Congress leaders and workers will not vote for Samajwadi Party candidates as the leaders and workers were not taken into confidence. The upper caste in Congress could vote for the BJP,” Dubey said.
“This will definitely help the BJP. Upper castes in this area are supporting the BJP. The region has very high number of Brahmins. Folklore has it that all Brahmins in India have emerged from Kannauj. The Samajwadi Party failed to nurse the Brahmin pride. And I will not be surprised if the BJP wins a few seats in Kannauj and Etawah this time,” he said.