GORAKHPUR: Haati, lathi, saat sau chhiyasi (elephant, baton and 786) — the slogan symbolising Dalit-Yadav-Muslim unity echoes in the lanes and bylanes of Humanyunpura area close to the revered Gorakhnath Mutt which is bubbling with activity even before the break of dawn. As one moves towards the Mutt from the Muslim-dominated locality, where pro-gathbandhan voices are emanating from the ground, the scene takes a saffron hue.
The Mutt has been turned into the war room of Uttar Pradesh Chief Yogi Adityanath who has been camping here for the past 10 days, supervising BJP candidate Ravi Kishan’s campaign. It’s a prestige issue for Yogi, who was stung by the BJP’s loss in his backyard in last year’s bypoll. He is taking no chances this time and has made Gorakhpur his base. His Hindu Yuva Vahini has been pressed into action along with the Sangh Parivar’s machinery to meet the challenges posed by the caste arithmetic of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance.
The shock of 2018 defeat is palpable among a large number of voters who swear to make it up this time for the sake of ‘Maharaj ji’. Yogi has represented the seat five times since 1998. The alliance candidate is former MLA Ram Bhuwal Nishad of the Samajwadi Party. In fact, Gorakhpur bypoll was the lab for the SP-BSP gathbandhan experiment. Facing existential crisis following the massive drubbing in the 2017 Assembly polls, the two regional satraps had decided to contest the bypoll necessitated after Yogi became the CM.
This time, it’s a battle between the alliance’s Nishad candidate and the BJP’s Brahmin candidate, Bhojpuri film actor Ravi Kishan Shukla, supported by the Nishads. The Congress is desperately trying to make it a triangular battle by fielding a Brahmin, Madhuudan Tripathi.
With the strong possibility of division in Nishad vote bank, around 3.75 lakh, the question is whether they will vote for the party that claims to espouse their cause or a candidate from the community?
“Of course they will go by what their leader will ask them to do. The alliance candidate, with a rather tainted image, has limited reach among the Nishads,” claims Sanjay Nishad, president of NISHAD party and father of Praveen.
Residents in urban areas feel that bypoll reverse was a personal setback for Yogi which shouldn’t have happened, given the kind of development work he has brought to the constituency. “We committed a mistake once. We will not let Yogi Adityanath down this time,” says Girish, 29, while dusting his shop of puja samagri on the temple premises. On Ravi Kishan’s candidature, the common refrain is that when Yogi is at the helm of affairs, the candidate hardly matters.
Rafi of Zahidabad locality adjacent to the Gorakhnath temple feels his family has always been voting for Mahara ji and this time also they will back him. “Baba (Aditaynath) does everything for us. He takes care as our guardian. How can we think of voting for someone else?” he says.
Pro-alliance voters are confident that the strong caste combination in favour of the SP candidate will ensure BJP defeat. “The Nishads are backing Ram Bhuwal as they feel betrayed by Praveen. Even Brahmin voters are not happy with Yogi,” says Anil Srivastava, head of Firaq Academy.Political analyst Manoj Singh says possible division in Nishad votes and Yogi’s efforts have made the contest interesting. “Anyone can win but the margin will be thin,” he says.