Reviewing preparations for Lok Sabha elections in Bundelkhand region in February, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati reminded the party leaders of the strategy adopted by the SP-BSP alliance in 1993 assembly election to counter the saffron wave.

She told the leaders that riding on Dalit-OBC-Muslim combination, the alliance had shocked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by winning eight assembly seats of the region.

“The Samajwadi Party (SP) was able to establish its foothold in the region and later extended its base among backward communities,” she said and directed the party workers to rework the alliance formula to revive its lost base.

Out of the region’s four Lok Sabha seats -- Hamirpur, Banda, Jhansi and Jalaun -- SP and BSP have shared two seats each. While SP has fielded Shyama Charan Gupta from Banda and Shyam Sundar Singh from Jhansi, BSP’s Ajay Singh Pankaj and Dilip Kumar Singh are contesting from Jalaun and Hamirpur.

The BJP has changed its candidates in Banda and Jhansi. RK Patel has been given ticket in place of sitting MP Bhairon Prasad Mishra from Banda and has fielded Anurag Sharma from Jhansi in place of Uma Bharti.

The BJP has fielded sitting MP Bhanu Pratap Singh from Jalaun and Kunwar Pushpendra Singh Chandel from Hamirpur.

That the political parties are using all their resources to secure victory on the four seats of Bundelkhand region can be sensed as one crosses the Yamuna bridge at Chilla ghat.

BJP leaders are banking on the rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he addressed on Thursday. Mukesh Verma, a BJP worker in Banda, said the party was seeking people’s support by highlighting the welfare schemes run for the poor.

BJP workers are informing the people about Bundelkhand Expressway, loan waiver and defence corridor.

The Congress workers are highlighting the projects that were launched by the United Progressive Alliance government (2004-2014) for the development of Bundelkhand.

The Samajwadi Party workers are also giving final touches to their campaign. “SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP president Mayawati will address rallies in Banda and Jhansi to campaign for the alliance,” said Ram Singh Nishad.

The schedule of the rally has not been decided yet.

The SP workers are informing the people about the scheme launched by the Akhilesh government during drought.

Problems Galore

Pangara hills in Banda district have turned into mounds due to illegal stone mining; ( HT Photo )

Raja Bhaiya, a social activist based in Attara town, said: “During the UPA government, a Rs 7,000-crore Bundelkhand package was announced to fight poverty, generate employment and put this backward region on the path of development but even after a decade, it remains one of the most backward areas of the state.”

“Funds were used on the construction of ware houses, check dams and promotion of animal husbandry. Ware houses are lying deserted, majority of the check dams have collapsed and the large number of stray cattle roaming in the area indicates that initiatives related to animal husbandry have failed to attract farmers,” he said.

The Samajwadi Party government had distributed Samajwadi food kit to assist the people after kharif crop was destroyed by drought and rabi crop by hailstorm, the social activist said.

“However, people complained that officers indulged in corruption by supplying substandard food,” he added.

“The loan waiver scheme launched by BJP government in 2017 failed to provide reprieve to marginal farmers. Those who got their kisan credit cards renewed were deprived of the scheme. Now, the BJP is wooing the people with expressway and defence corridor scheme,” he added.

Shyambaran Kushwaha, a school teacher in Naraini, said: “If political parties are committed to the welfare of the people residing in Bundelkhand region, it should start Continental Float Glass factory in Bargarh. The factory used to employ over 5,000 people but was closed down in 1998.”

“During elections, all political parties make promises to start the factory but did nothing after winning. Banda Cotton Mill is also closed since decades but successive governments did nothing to start it again,” he said.

Kuldeep Singh, a native of Kabrai town in Mahoba district, said the construction of four-lane Banda-Mahoba and Mahoba- Jhansi road was on for the last two years and the commuters moving on the highway were a harassed lot.

Kamlesh Patel, a resident of Chamrauha village of Chitrakoot, said the villagers were facing problems of stray cattle, illegal mining and depletion of groundwater. “As the poll draws nearer, no one is raising these issues but mobilising support on the basis of caste,” he said.

Indrapal Gupta, a transport company owner, said after coming to power in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress had announced profitable package for stone crusher units. “We are getting stiff competition from the units located across the border. Some of the unit owners have decided to shift their plant to MP. We have also urged the state government to provide relief to the industry. A large number of people will lose jobs if the units are shifted to MP,” he said.

In Benda village of Jhansi, people are talking about defence corridor launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February.

Anup Verma, who has completed a course from the Government Industrial Training Institute, is hopeful that the corridor would generate employment and check migration of unemployed people to other states.

Addressing a public meeting in Lalitpur on Tuesday, chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had called on the voters to make Modi PM again for development of Bundelkhand.

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Development on the back burner?

A political observer, Hari Kishan Poddar, said: “As polling comes closer, political parties put the issue of development on the backburner. Now, they are focusing on caste equations to ensure victory of their candidates. The BJP had won all the four seats in 2014. Again in 2017 assembly election, it swept 19 assembly seats. It has fielded Brahmins, Thakurs, Patels and Koris to woo upper caste, backward and Dalits.”

Poddar said the alliance had fielded Vaishya and Yadav candidates while the BSP was banking on Thakur and Jatav candidates in the region.

“The Congress has fielded candidates belonging to Kurmi, Lodhi, Jatav and Kushwaha communities to retain lost ground. The political parties have roped in leaders who have influence over their community for campaigning,” he said.

A native of Talgaon village near Lalitpur, farmer Kundan Ahirwar said, “The BJP government has launched development and welfare schemes in Dalit-dominated villages.

“BSP chief Mayawati is our leader. She has called upon the members of Dalit community to vote for the SP candidate. Though the SP candidate belongs to Yadav community, we have decided to support him,” he said.

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First Published: Apr 26, 2019 12:14 IST