An interesting triangular contest is on the cards in Shahjahanpur akin to the last lok Sabha polls in 2009 with the same personalities but in different party configurations in this erstwhile Congress stronghold.
The historic city of Shahjahanpur — which goes to the fifth phase of polling on April 17 — will see an intense contest between the present Samajwadi Party MP Mithlesh Kumar, husband of dreaded chambal dacoit Phoolan Devi and BSP candidate Umed Singh and BJP nominee Krishna Raj.
These three have already been a part of 2009 lS poll fray from the same constituency but Umed Singh was a Congress candidate then in a constituency where caste politics plays a big role. The SP candidate Mithilesh Kumar, however, won the elections by a margin of over 70,000 votes against BSP’s Sunita Singh while the Congress was in the third spot and the BJP in fourth.
Meanwhile, the Congress has fielded Chetram and the AAP has given the ticket to Rita Jatav, who recently joined the party after quitting the Congress. As many as eight other candidates are in the fray but they are marginal players with little impact on the electoral outcome. Shahjahanpur has a population of around 32 lakh, where Hindus are a majority with 56 per cent vote share.
The seat is always said to be a stronghold of the Congress and its leader Jitendra Prasada represented the seat a record five times while his son Jitin Prasada, who is a Union Minister of the State in the present UPA Government, has won twice including a by-election after the death of his father.
But after the Shahjahanpur lok Sabha seat was reserved in the delimitation in 2009, Jitin shifted to the adjoining Dharaura seat from where he won the 2009 elections. Out of the total 15 lok Sabha elections, held so far in the constituency, the highest victory — nine times — has been by the Congress candidates while SP and Janata Dal candidates have won twice each (once each by the BJP and an Independent candidate).
This time, however, the elections would be held in the backdrop of caste factor though the BJP could get the benefit of the Modi wave which is sweeping across the entire North India. However, developmental issues like drinking water, roads, electricity, good schools and lack of other basic amenities have also been a significant issue for the poll campaigners in this constituency.