Upper caste support critical for BJP in east Uttar Pradesh
GHAZIPUR/MAU/BALLIA: The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded several candidates from non-Yadav other backward classes or OBCs in eastern Uttar Pradesh, but its traditional support among upper castes may prove critical in the last two phases of this election.
This seems to be the case especially in the constituencies where the Samajwadi Party or Bahujan Samaj Party have fielded strong candidates from upper castes.
SP and BSP have over time succeeded in weaning away chunks of Thakur and Brahmin supporters respectively from the BJP, which has remained a weak political force in eastern UP for the past two decades BSP’s attempts at forging a Dalit-Brahmin combination were highly successful in the 2007 assembly polls.
SP, on the other hand, continues to enjoy support among Thakurs in this region.
BJP hopes to gain from what appears to be a triangular contest for most of the 89 seats going to the polls in the sixth and seventh phases of the election on March 4 and March 8.
Its alliance with Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which has a strong support base among the OBC Rajbhar community in this region, is expected to widen its catchment area. Besides, it is seeking to gain from potential anti-incumbency against the SP government.
In this election, BSP has fielded upper caste candidates in several constituencies of eastern UP including Azamgarh’s Sagari and Atraulia, Ghazipur’s Jangipur and Zamania, Ballia’s Rasara and Sadar, and Mau’s Madhuban.
SP has a few sitting MLAs from upper castes in this region. A prime example is former minister Om Prakash Singh, considered to be SP’s Thakur face in eastern UP, who is working hard to retain support of upper castes in his Zamania seat of Ghazipur. Here BJP has fielded Sunita Parikshit, who hails from the Thakur dominated Gahmar village.
“This village has more than 10,000 votes and thus, it is a difficult task for Om Prakash Singh to keep the BJP candidate from making a dent into his own vote bank. This village has a good population of serving and retired army men,” said Ashish, a native of Ghazipur’s Medanipur village.
SP’s Sanatan Pandey and BSP’s sitting MLA Umashankar Singh are facing a similar challenge in Rasara seat of Ballia district.
A section of upper castes had supported BSP in the last assembly election. With Rajbhar voters showing open support to BJP in this area, BJP’s candidate Ram Iqbal Singh is expected to bag upper castes’ votes in Rasara.
In Bansdih in Ballia, however, BJP appears to be finding it difficult to get the upper castes’ votes transferred to its alliance partner SBSP’s candidate Arvind Rajbhar.
The presence of BJP rebel Ketki Singh as an independent candidate has put a question mark on the BJP’s potential to get the upper caste voters to support the SBSP candidate.
This seems to be the case especially in the constituencies where the Samajwadi Party or Bahujan Samaj Party have fielded strong candidates from upper castes.
SP and BSP have over time succeeded in weaning away chunks of Thakur and Brahmin supporters respectively from the BJP, which has remained a weak political force in eastern UP for the past two decades BSP’s attempts at forging a Dalit-Brahmin combination were highly successful in the 2007 assembly polls.
SP, on the other hand, continues to enjoy support among Thakurs in this region.
BJP hopes to gain from what appears to be a triangular contest for most of the 89 seats going to the polls in the sixth and seventh phases of the election on March 4 and March 8.
Its alliance with Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which has a strong support base among the OBC Rajbhar community in this region, is expected to widen its catchment area. Besides, it is seeking to gain from potential anti-incumbency against the SP government.
In this election, BSP has fielded upper caste candidates in several constituencies of eastern UP including Azamgarh’s Sagari and Atraulia, Ghazipur’s Jangipur and Zamania, Ballia’s Rasara and Sadar, and Mau’s Madhuban.
SP has a few sitting MLAs from upper castes in this region. A prime example is former minister Om Prakash Singh, considered to be SP’s Thakur face in eastern UP, who is working hard to retain support of upper castes in his Zamania seat of Ghazipur. Here BJP has fielded Sunita Parikshit, who hails from the Thakur dominated Gahmar village.
“This village has more than 10,000 votes and thus, it is a difficult task for Om Prakash Singh to keep the BJP candidate from making a dent into his own vote bank. This village has a good population of serving and retired army men,” said Ashish, a native of Ghazipur’s Medanipur village.
SP’s Sanatan Pandey and BSP’s sitting MLA Umashankar Singh are facing a similar challenge in Rasara seat of Ballia district.
A section of upper castes had supported BSP in the last assembly election. With Rajbhar voters showing open support to BJP in this area, BJP’s candidate Ram Iqbal Singh is expected to bag upper castes’ votes in Rasara.
In Bansdih in Ballia, however, BJP appears to be finding it difficult to get the upper castes’ votes transferred to its alliance partner SBSP’s candidate Arvind Rajbhar.
The presence of BJP rebel Ketki Singh as an independent candidate has put a question mark on the BJP’s potential to get the upper caste voters to support the SBSP candidate.
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