The campaigning for the 73 assembly seats of West UP, going to the polls in the first phase of state assembly elections reached its crescendo on Wednesday on the eve of the end of the campaign. The campaign will end on Thursday evening and polling will be held on Saturday. The first phase will be a litmus test for the BJP and the BSP as well as of the SP-Congress alliance. There are 836 candidates in the fray in the first phase of polling in which around 20 per cent have criminal cases and 36 per cent are crorepatis (multi-millionaires).
Poll issues like law and order and development were the main poll planks of all the parties but BJP had raked some communal issues like exodus of the Hindu community from Kairana in Shamli district and other towns of West UP districts, communal riots in Muzaffarngar, banning OF slaughter houses and eve-teasing during their campaign. The opponents of the BJP countered its campaign accusing the BJP of spreading communal hatred and hardships caused by the demonetisation. The districts going to polls in the first phase are Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut, Etah, Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Mathura.
Campaigning in the first phase has been electrifying, with all the senior leaders of all political parties leaving no stone unturned to attract the voters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed three meetings at Meerut, Aligarh and in Ghaziabad. Other BJP leaders and Union Ministers also campaigned. BSP President Mayawati, Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi, and SP President Akhilesh Yadav also addressed several meetings. However Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her daughter Priyanka Vadra and Mulayam Singh Yadav did not campaign for the first phase polls. BSP is totally banking on its Dalit-Muslim agenda with connecting it with Sarv Samaj. Rashtriya lok Dal (RlD) has emerged as major contender in these elections and the party is contesting in 59 seats in the first phase and its leader Ajit Singh and his son Jayant Singh are the only star campaigners for the party.
Similarly, the first time in UP, Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is also contesting in a big way in west UP. The VVIP seats in the first phase are Noida where Pankaj Singh, son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Atrauli in Aligarh district Sandeep Singh, grandson of former CM Kalyan Singh are making debut in electoral politics. Similarly Mriganka Singh, daughter of BJP MP Hukum Singh is also fighting her first election from Kairana seat on BJP ticket. There are more than 25 seats where the Election commission and political pundits are keeping close watch.
The Sardhana seat in Meerut and Thanabhawan seat in Shamli where Muzaffarnagar riot accused and BJP candidates Sangit Som and Suresh Rana, both sitting MlAs are again in the fray. Congress legislature party leader Pradeep Mathur, a three time MlA from Mathura seat, is facing tough challenge from the Srikant Sharma, the national spokesperson of the BJP, while Rahul Yadav, son-in-law of former Bihar Chief Minister lalu Prasad Yadav, is contesting on SP ticket from Sikendrabad seat in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. Former state BJP President laxmikant Bajpai, sitting MlA is seeking re-election from Meerut (City). In the 2012 Assembly polls, the results in these 73 Assembly segments were 24 in favour of SP, 23 for BSP, 12 for BJP, nine for RlD and five for Congress. BJP, which won just 12 seats in 2012 Assembly polls would be looking for repeat of its 2014 lok Sabha feat when it took lead in 60 seats and won all the lok Sabha seats except for Ferozabad.