HASTINAPUR/UP: UP’s bellwether constituency Hastinapur, the capital of Kauravas in Mahabharat, is up for a close fight between BJP and the SP-RLD alliance. The SC community in this reserved constituency is expected to decide the winner.
This constituency has a reputation. Every party that won here formed the government in the state since Independence. Locals say this with a sense of pride. They don’t fail to mention that in 1996, an Independent was elected from the constituency and none got absolute majority, resulting in President’s rule.This time, the fight is between BJP’s sitting MLA Dinesh Khatik and SP-RLD’s Yogesh Verma, a former BSP MLA from this constituency. His wife Sunita Verma is the Mayor of Meerut.
While people here have elected MLAs from several parties — Congress, Bharatiya Kranti Dal, Janata Party, Janata Dal, BSP, SP, BJP — they rue that none worked for development in the area. “You can see how bad the roads are. Several mills have shut down, forcing our children to travel to other cities for jobs. This is a historic place. It is also revered by the Jain community for its famous temples. But not much has changed infrastructure wise,” said Raju, who comes from the Jatav community and runs a small shop.
Ask him who will win and he says the wave is in favour of SP-RLD. “I am a committed Mayawati voter. But this time, out of compulsion, I will vote for Verma (who is from his community) because he is accessible to common people, unlike Khatik.” The constituency has an equal number of SCs and Muslims and a sizeable population of Gujjars and Jats.
Tuesday being the last day of campaigning for the first phase, the constituency saw high-profile visitors, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. “Muslims and a section of SCs and Jats are with the alliance candidate and Verma has an edge. BJP is also putting up a tough fight. SCs could tilt the scale in favour of the winner,” said Mohan Prajapati, a flour mill labourer. In 2017, a large number of SCs had voted for BJP.