SIRATHU (KAUSHAMBI, UP): As the high-octane election campaign comes to an end in Sirathu, three youngsters ride a motorbike with BJP and SP flags fluttering in their hands, aptly depicting the mood here.
Sirathu has UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya fighting Dr Pallavi Patel of Apna Dal (Kamerawadi). Patel, contesting on the SP symbol, is the elder sister of Union minister Anupriya Patel, who heads Apna Dal (Sonelal) which is in alliance with the BJP. BSP, which had earlier named a Brahmin candidate, has replaced him with Munsab Ali Usmani while the Congress has fielded Seema Devi.
The caste equation is set to play a crucial role in deciding the outcome in Sirathu. The seat is dominated by two prominent castes, Pasi (Scheduled Caste) and Patel — Kurmis who make the second biggest chunk of OBCs after Yadavs in UP. Moreover, Brahmins and Vaishyas (traders community), too, are in considerable numbers.
Sirathu falls in Kaushambi district which has three Assembly segments. The other two are Manjhanpur, which is also the district headquarter, and Chayal. Manjhanpur is a reserved consitutency. In 2017, the BJP had won all the three.
Both Maurya and Patel are OBCs. Maurya, BJP’s prominent OBC face in UP, knows well that a victory in Sirathu is crucial to his political career irrespective of his party’s performance in the state.
Facing a tough challenge in Sirathu, BJP has played its cards strategically in adjoining seats. Expecting the support of upper castes and SCs, the party replaced sitting MLA Sanjay Gupta with Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel in neighbouring Chayal. The party strategists think this would keep its Patel votes intact in a larger area, thus benefiting Maurya.
Similarly, Vachaspati, the SP runner-up in 2017, is a Pasi leader from Sirathu and is now the Apna Dal (S) candidate in Bara, a reserved seat in Prayagraj. BJP sources claim his presence will help Maurya in moving the Pasis in his favour in Sirathu. Even BSP’s decision to change its candidate may also work in Maurya’s favour.
As soon as one stops at the first grocery shop in the main market, people smelling the presence of a journalist, started shouting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogan. Umesh, in his early 30s, repeats the catch line popular in Sirathu even before he could be asked anything. “Jai Keshav, Tai Keshav (long live Keshav, Keshav’s victory is certain)’.
Before Umesh could add anything, Ashok Yadav, sitting in a tea-stall, pitches in. “Let him say what he wants to say. Reality will be out on March 10.”
The SP has thrown its weight behind Pallavi Patel who is seeking ticket by virtue of being Sirathu’s daughter-in-law as her husband Pankaj Niranjan belongs to this place. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had addressed a rally for Pallavi on Tuesday.
Once known to be a BSP stronghold, Kaushambi is Keshav Maurya’s birth place. So, the tussle here has turned out to be between the son of the soil and the daughter-in-law.
As one proceeds towards Prayagraj, many in rural pocket complain of Maurya’s inaccessibility. They feel that being a VIP constituency, he could have developed Sirathu the way Samajwadis developed Safai and Mainpuri. However, deep in the rural pockets, people seem to be divided over the prospects of Maurya. While for some, Maurya has done a lot of development, others feel much more should have been done.
Muslim and Yadavs claim the winds of change are blowing in Sirathu and in the entire UP. “We belong to Fatehpur. We had come here to get a pulse of Sirathu. Maurya is nowhere in the fight. Patel will sail through,” says Sagir. Rahul Yadav intervenes: “No party has ever repeated government in the state. SP will form the next government.”