Key contests, candidates: All the facts about phase 2 of UP polls

FP Politics • April 17, 2014, 08:57:50 IST

From Rampur, which is the stronghold of Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan to the return of Maneka Gandhi to Pilibhit, the Thursday polls will unfold many interesting stories on 16 May.

Key contests, candidates: All the facts about phase 2 of UP polls

Uttar Pradesh is getting ready for the second round polls on 17 April. The 11 constituencies that are going to polls are located in western and central parts of the state. From Rampur, which is the stronghold of Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan, to the return of Maneka Gandhi to Pilibhit, the Thursday polls will spawn many interesting stories for 16 May – the day of counting.

With the memories of Muzaffarnagar riots still raw, the region is likely to witness great polarisation in the voting and will prove to be a litmus test for the so-called Narendra Modi wave. According to the Lokniti, CSDS-IBN pre-poll survey, the poor handling of the riots have eroded fair share of Muslim votes from SP’s kitty.

Here are how some of the key UP races will play out on Thursday:

1. Nagina

Nagina is one of the two constituencies in Uttar Pradesh reserved for the scheduled caste community that are voting on 17 April. According to a report in The Hindu : “The Muslim-dominated Nagina (reserved) parliamentary constituency located in Uttar Pradesh’s north-west is witnessing a tough contest between sitting MP Yashvir Singh ‘Dhobi,’ fielded again by the Samajwadi Party, Girish Chand, a former MLA contesting on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket, and Yashwant Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party.”

In total, 14 candidates are in the fray for the seat. The constituency has a total number of 14,72,972 voters – 7,86,899 (male), 6,85,979 (female) and 94 (other community). The Election Commission has set up 1,545 polling booths in the constituency. Nagina became a parliamentary constituency in 2008 after the delimitation process was executed. It covers the Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats of Najibabad, Nagina, Dhampur, Nehtaur and Noorpur.

2. Moradabad

Cricketer-turned-politician Mohammad Azharuddin, who is the incumbent Congress MP, asked to be shifted out to Rajasthan as he was doubtful of his victory. Parachuted from Andhra Pradesh as a star representative in 2009, Azharuddin did not make the impact as the electorate had wanted him to. Considering the shaky position of the party, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on 29 March also visited the constituency and met the famed artisans and the craftsmen community of the region. This time Congress has fielded Begum Noor Bano Urf Mehtab while Haji Mohd Yaqoob (BSP), Kunwer Sarvesh Kumar (BJP) and ST Hasan (SP) are also in the fray.

Moradabad is an unreserved constituency and covers the Assembly seats of Barhapur, Kanth, Thakurdwara, Moradabad Rural and Moradabad Nagar. It has an electorate of 17,20,589 voters – 9,35,333 (male), 7,85,178 (female) and 78 (other community). A total of 1,698 polling booths have been put up.

3. Rampur

Held by former Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Prada Nahata, Rampur is soon going to lose its star connect. The MP has already joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal and is not fighting the polls from this seat this time around. However, Rampur remains the stronghold of SP stalwart Azam Khan. A recent Firstpost story noted: “Referred to by residents of Rampur city as ‘mantriji’, the seven-time MLA and cabinet minister in Akhilesh Yadav’s government, seems to enjoy almost a cult status here…. Locals say Azam Khan has changed the face of Rampur City and credit him for his developmental and social initiatives. Khan is spoken of with reverence and few openly criticise him.” The SP has fielded Naseer Ahmad Khan who has Khan’s backing.

In the Muslim-dominated constituency of Rampur, 12 candidates are in the fray. It has a total of 15,78,951 voters—8,54,877 (male), 7,23,715 (female) and 359 (other community)—who will exercise their right to franchise in 1,574 polling booths.

4. Sambhal

This constituency in Uttar Pradesh grabbed instant headlines when state Minister Azam Khan on 9 April in his war of words with BJP’s Amit Shah allegedly exhorted the electorate in a public rally here to take revenge on the rioters of Muzaffarnagar by pressing the button in the Lok Sabha polls . Former Mumbai Police commissioner Satyapal Singh is fighting the polls from this seat on a BJP ticket. Sitting MP Shafiq-ur-Rahman Barq (SP), Aqeel-ur-Rehman Khan (BSP), Acharya Pramod Krishnam (Congress) are among other candidates contesting in the seat.

Sambhal has a total electorate of 16,61,413 who will vote in 1,680 polling booths.

5. Amroha

Covering the Assembly seats of Dhanaura, Naugawan Sadat, Amroha, Hasanpur and Garhmukteshwar, the Amroha parliamentary seat is witnessing a divide between Jats and Muslims. It is currently held by Rashtriya Lok Dal MP Devendra Nagpal. All total 15 candidates will fight the political battle in this seat. There are 15,18,549 voters in this seats. The Election Commission has facilitated for 1,568 polling booths.

6. Badaun

A report in The Economic Times aptly defines the nature of this constituency in western Uttar Pradesh. It said: " This constituency has not seen a ’local’ Parliamentarian in the last three decades as ‘outsiders’ fielded by major political parties have represented it since 1984. The last time this constituency elected a local was in 1980: Asrar Ahmad of Congress." SP’s Dharmendra Yadav, who is the incumbent MP, is seeking a re-election and will contest 22 others.

Badaun covers the Assembly seats of Gunnaur, Bisauli, Sahaswan, Bilsi and Badaun.

7. Aonla

The Assembly seats of Shekhupur, Dataganj, Faridpur, Bithari Chainpur and Aonla are under the Lok Sabha seat of Aonla. In the 15th Lok Sabha this seat is represented by BJP’s Maneka Gandhi who will now contest the polls this time from Pilibhit. In 2009, the Congress had not put up a candidate against the estranged daughter-in-law of the Gandhi family.

The BJP has fielded Dharmendra Kumar Kashyap this time who was a Samajwadi Party candidate from the same seat. He had lost the 2009 polls to Maneka Gandhi. Congress’ Saleem Iqbal Shervani, SP’s Kunwar Sarvraj Singh and Sunita Shakya from the BSP will also try their luck from Aonla.

There are 13 candidates in the fray from this seat with a total electorate of 16,11,178 voters. This comprises of 8,96,147 (male), 7,15,005 (female) and 26 from the other community. Voters will be using 1,745 polling booths on 17 April – the day of voting.

8. Bareilly

Represented by Congress MP Praveen Singh Aron, Bareilly has not enjoyed the same fame as its near-namesake Rae Bareli except for its recurrent riots in the last two years. It captured the headlines when cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan expressed his support to the BSP claiming that Mayawati’s party is best capable of stopping communalism. Former BJP MP Santosh Gangwar from this seat (1989-2009) is also contesting making it a tough contest between the Congress and the BJP. With the Muslim vote likely to be divided, only time will tell who will have the last laugh in Bareilly.

This parliamentary seat envelops the Assembly seats of Meerganj, Bhojipura, Nawabganj, Bareilly and Bareilly Cantt. Apart from Aron, who is seeking re-election, there are 13 others ready to prevent him from doing that. The 16,04,106 comprises of 8,79,761 (male), 7,24,308 (female) and 37 (other community) voters. The constituency will have 1,645 polling booths.

9. Pilibhit

This is a Gandhi bastion, not of the Congress but of the BJP. Maneka Gandhi chose to return to the constituency which she represented from 1989 to 2009. In the last Lok Sabha election, she had vacated it for her son Varun which he won by a record margin getting 4,19,489 votes. With the return of Maneka, Varun has been shifted to Sultanpur. Of late, with the warring Gandhis constantly keeping the nation’s media busy it will be riveting to see if Maneka can win the seat again. There is quiet disappointment on the ground that she did little for the region in all these years.

Unlike 2009, the Congress is putting up a candidate against Maneka this time. Sanjay Kapoor wil fight the polls in Pilibhit on a Congress ticket.

Pilibhit has 12 candidates contesting against each other and 16,37,672 voters to choose the winner.

10. Shahjahanpur

The second Scheduled Caste constituency in Thursday’s round of polls in Uttar Pradesh, Shahjahanpur is currently held by Samajwadi Party’s Mithilesh Kumar. Kumar is seeking a re-election and will face 12 other candidates in the fray. All prominent parties—BJP, AAP, Congress and BSP—have put up candidates in the seat.

Shahjahanpur covers the Assembly seats of Katra, Jalalabad, Tilhar, Powayan, Shahjahanpur and Dadraul. It has the biggest number of electorate among all constituencies in Uttar Pradesh that are going to votes on Thursday. The strength of the electorate is 19,23,767 voters who will vote in 2,233 polling booths.

11. Kheri

In the present Lok Sabha, this seat belongs to Zafar Ali Naqvi of the Congress. Naqvi will fight the polls from the same seat and will face 10 other contestants in the battle. Ravi Prakash Verma of the Samajwadi Party, who is a three-time MP from the seat but lost in 2009 will try to regain his seat. The BJP has fielded Ajay Mishra and Arvind Giri is the BSP candidate. There are 11 candidates contesting from the seat. It covers the Assembly seats of Palia, Nighasan, Gola Gokrannath, Sri Nagar and Lakhimpur.