Elections 2014: Why the Yadavs have nothing to fear on 24 April

Lucknow: Political observers almost unanimously refer to the fourth phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh as the ‘family phase’. Honour is at stake for several political families in the Yadav zone as 12 constituencies go to polls on 24 April. Topping their list is that of the original Yadav chieftain Mulayam Singh. Mulayam Singh Yadav himself is seeking re-election from Mainpuri, a seat he has been controlling directly or by default for decades, while his daughter-in-law and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav is seeking to defend her Kannauj seat that she had won in an unprecedented manner in 2012. Mulayam’s nephew Akshay Yadav, who is the son of Samajwadi Party top leader Ram Gopal Yadav, is the party’s contestant from Firozabad. The constituencies that go to polls on 24 April are Hathras, Mathura, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Etawah, Kannauj and Akbarpur, involving an electorate of 1.98 crores. Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh’s son Jayant is in the fray from Mathura where he faces Bharatiya Janata Party’s Hema Malini; BJP leader Kalyan Singh’s son Rajbir Singh is contesting from Etah; and SP’s Pakshlika Singh, wife of UP minister Mahendra Aridaman Singh from Fatehpur Sikri. Former UP minister Ramveer Upadhyay’s wife Seema Upadhyay is a candidate from Fatehpur Sikri too. They are taking on former SP leader Amar Singh, who is the RLD candidate this time. [caption id=“attachment_1489685” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Dimple Yadav on the campaign trail. PTI[/caption] “It is not surprising to find so many members of only a few families contesting from this region since it is a conservative, caste-oriented area where loyalties matter above everything,” says Dr Rahul Shukla, a history professor in a Lucknow University college. Even though the area is rich in agriculture, trading and small industries, it is backward as far as economic growth is concerned. NTPC’s gas power station at Dibiyapur is among the few big industries and employers in the region, which is otherwise known for big production of potato, melons and watermelons, paan, perfumes and of course, mithai. If having so many powerful representatives would be any indication of development, then the NH-2 from Kanpur to Agra and onwards to Delhi is one of the major symbols of it. Most of construction and small industry development has taken place along this Kolkata-Delhi national highway. Even the much-publicised Plastic City at Dibiyapur, an industrial estate slated to use raw material from GAIL gas station, is under development for several years. It is only Kannauj that shows some signs of prosperity with nearly uninterrupted power supply, hectic trading activity and a medical college. “There was a time in the 80s when this region, right from Akbarpur on Kanpur’s outskirts, up to Agra, was on the top priority of industrialisation, and the UP State Industrial Development Corporation initiated several schemes to encourage activity related to steel, plastic and chemicals etc. But somewhere the pace slowed down and caste-based politics took over,” rues Sanjeev Sharma, a Kanpur-based businessman who keeps travelling to Etawah and Kannauj for business activities. The NTPC plant and township is an island of stable activity and prosperity, like other NTPC and Central PSU establishments. “It is a source of major economic activity such as hotels, travel and transport services in the nearby Kakrahi Bazar,” says Surya Pratap, a taxi-owner whose frequent customers include NTPC and GAIL officers. But it is a politically active region, nonetheless. Most shops or eateries in Kannauj, Etawah, Firozabad and Mainpuri display photographs of Mulayam Singh Yadav, and now also Akhilesh Yadav, enjoying tea or eatables with the proud owner of the shop gazing into the camera with a big smile. Obviously it is a matter of pride for the local people to have their representative in the power set-up in Lucknow. Even when the Samajwadi Party has not been in power, the family’s clout has remained intact, and that is what matters. In Mainpuri, the Congress has not fielded a candidate against Mulayam who is facing Sanghamitra Maurya, daughter of Bahujan Samaj Party leader and former minister Swami Prasad Maurya, and Shatrughna Singh of the BJP. Singh, incidentally, has demanded that the Election Commission declare the constituency as extra-sensitive and remove senior district administration officials as they were acting as “SP cadres.” By the way, allegations of one-sided voting and rigging are legendary in the area. Residents also complain that Etawah, Mulayam’s home district, is far more developed than Mainpuri, and yet, the people do not seem to mind. Firozabad is a twin city to Agra and is known for its glass work and bangles. Akshay Yadav had been given the responsibility of nurturing this constituency several years ago and has been meeting people and listening to their problems. However, besides being a highway town with shanties belching thick smoke from glass-making furnaces, the town has nothing much to show. Lack of development and consistent neglect irk the local people and the BJP candidate SPS Baghel is aiming to take advantage of this resentment. Baghel had been with SP for a long time. Kannauj, famous for its itra (perfumes) was represented by Akhilesh Yadav up to 2009 and he vacated this seat after taking over as chief minister in 2012. Mulayam did some clever manipulation to ensure that Akhilesh’s wife Dimple won unopposed from here in 2012, a rare feat in contemporary politics. This was his reply to the humiliating defeat Dimple had suffered at the hands of Raj Babbar of the Congress in 2009 from Firozabad. Now Dimple faces Subrat Pathak (BJP) and Nirmal Tiwari (BSP). Dissatisfaction against the SP government is palpable, especially over poor law and order and civic infrastructure and lack of employment opportunities. Yet, the people in the three Yadav family seats may not spring a surprise because they know the SP is in power till 2017.