Of the 14 Lok Sabha seats that are going to polls in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, the BJP had won 9 in the previous elections. The next big winner was the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with four seats, while the Samajwadi Party (SP) managed to secure only one seat.
One of the most closely watched contests will be in Sultanpur where former Union minister Maneka Gandhi is looking for her ninth win to the Lok Sabha. She contested from Sultanpur in 2019 too. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not campaign for her, but Chief Minister Yogi Aidtyanath did. Her son Varun Gadhi also chipped in. She is facing Rambhual Nishad of the SP in a constituency where his caste is present in significant numbers.
In Azamgarh, Bhojuri actor and singer Dinesh Yadav ‘Nirahua’ the incumbent MP from BJP is facing SP's Dharmendra Yadav. The contest has been squared by the BSP’s Mashud Ahmed. Nirhua is seeking votes in the name of Modi, as the electorate is miffed with him for not doing much for the constituency.
In Allahabad, there is a battle of the sons. Neeraj Tripathi (BJP), the son of former UP assembly speaker Keshari Nath Tripathi, is taking on Ujjawal Ram Singh, the son of Rewati Raman Singh. The senior Singh is one of the founding members of the SP. While Tripathi has no political experience, Singh is a two-time MLA.
Maharashtra’s former minister of state for home, Kripa Shankar Singh, is taking on the SP’s Babu Singh Kushwaha in Jaunpur. BJP's Singh seems headed for s sure victory as local strongman Dhananjay Singh – miffed at the taking back of his wife’s ticket by the BSP—has announced his support for the saffron party.
A shadow battle is on in Pratapgarh, where another strongman Raghuraj Pratap Singh (Raja bhaiyya) has announced his support for the BJP. The party candidate here is sitting MP Sangam Lal Gupta. The SP candidate, Shiv Pal Singh Patel is a Kurmi. Though the constituency has a substantial Kurmi vote, the contest could see the votes swing to the BJP as Apna Dal (S) president Anupriya Patel has hit out at Raja bhaiyya without naming him.
There are local issues dominating the polls such as unemployment, stray cattle, road maintenance, overhaul of sugar mills and control of flood waters. However, will these be able to trump brand Modi?
