ETAWAH/KANNAUJ (UTTAR PRADESH): As one travels on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway, smoke bellowing from chimneys of eent bhattas (brick kilns) far on the horizon gives a hint that Etawah is drawing closer. A manufacturing hub of bricks, Etawah draws its name from eent (brick).
With clean, wide roads, a kicking and alive Etawah is bustling with activity at 10 am. Each tea stall on the outskirts and deep into villages is an adda witnessing spirited debates over prospects of Samajwadi Party and the ruling BJP which had won two of the three Assembly seats in the district in 2017.
While BJP had bagged Etawah and Bharthana, Jaswantnagar had gone to Shivpal Yadav of SP with a margin of 52,000 despite the family feud in Yadav clan in 2017.
In the current election, all these three seats are poised for a direct fight between the SP and the BJP. Shivpal Yadav, who had parted way from SP in 2018 over the family feud is now fighting from Jaswantnagar again on SP symbol. Since 1967, Jaswantnagar has been represented by Mulayam clan except 1969 and 1980.
At Jaswantnagar, as one begins interaction with a group of people at a tea stall, the discourse centres around Shivpal. However, BJP has fielded Vivek Shakya and BSP Brijendra Pratap Singh. "We will vote for Shivpal Yadav who has done a lot development here," says Sumit Mishra, a trader, based in Rainagar locality.
Expressing similar sentiment, Badruddin Farooqui (72) of Mohalla Sarai, explains: "Shivpal, the four time MLA, is found always standing by the side of his people - both in their grief and happiness."
Farooqui claims Shivpal has no challenge here. This claim gets weight when Agam Sharma, a cloth merchant and a BJP supporter, concedes that only Shivpal will win from Jaswantnagar. Meanwhile, as one enters Etawah, which is a reserved constituency, people portray a different picture.
"It will not be a cakewalk for SP as many of Mulayam and Shivpal supporters have gone to the BJP and rest are not backing SP candidate as they are miffed with Shivpal’s humiliation by Akhilesh who has left just Jaswantnagar seat for him," says Krishna Murari Gupta, a local trader.
However, in the rural pockets - both in Etawah and Bharthana - the issue of stray cattle is overriding. Paan Singh Yadav, in Bharthana (reserved seat), says his vote is for those who will protect crops from stray cattle.
As one proceeds further on Lucknow-Agra Expressway, the perfume capital of India, Kannauj, with three Assembly segments - Kannauj Sadar (SC), Tirwa and Chhibramau - appears on poll arena.
In 2017, BJP could win two - Tirwa and Chhibramau - of the three seats. It failed to make forays into Kannauj Sadar, an SP stronghold. To breach the SP fortress, BJP has fielded former Kanpur police commissioner Asim Arun who is challenging the might of two-time SP MLA Anil Dohre. In 2017, Dohre had defeated the BJP candidate by just 2,454 votes.
"Last time, we lost the seat by a narrow margin which we will make up this time. I belong to Kannauj and remained always connected to my roots here. My police background will also give me an edge," says Aseem Arun.
BJP had won the seat three times from 1991 to 1996 during the temple movement, whereas, SP has been winning it since 2007. Despite being a reserved seat, BSP could never register its presence here.
However, the voters feel that development is the issue in Kannauj Sadar. "Education, employment, roads and potable water are the issues here," says advocate Anil Dwivedi. Other issues include recession in perfume industry, potato glut and unemployment. Kannauj has over 200 manufacturing units of perfume.
The perfume traders, who export 'ittra' worth Rs 100 crore annually, claim that the trade could not reach the heights owing to pandemic hardships but appreciate Yogi government's efforts to give a global market to 'ittra' through One District One Product scheme.