LUCKNOW: Known for being the seat of the famous Sufi saint Salim Chishti and the fort of Mughal Emperor Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri is the youngest parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh. It was carved out of Agra in 2008.
BJP’s Rajkumar Chahar had won it in 2019 with a thumping five lakh-plus vote margin. But this time around, the contest seems to be evenly poised between the BJP and the Congress. Sikri goes to polls on May 7.
Congress candidate Ram Nath Sikarwar — popularly known as Fauji Baba — is giving a tough fight to Chahar, who is reeling under anti-incumbency besides intra-party rebellion.
In 2019, Chahar was a giant killer, having defeated Raj Babbar, the then state president of the Congress. But now Chahar, the national chairman of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha, is caught in a double whammy.
Apart from Sikarwar, Chahar is also facing a tough challenge from Rameshwar Chaudhury, son of sitting BJP MLA Babulal Chaudhury. Rameshwar has raised the flag of revolt and is contesting as an independent. He is believed to have better clout than Chahar among the Jat voters. The BJP recently expelled Rameshwar after all efforts to pacify him failed.
Chahar also has to deal with grumpy Kashtriyas because of a perceived slight against the community by the BJP’s candidate in Gujarat’s Rajkot, Parshottam Rupala. Since Sikarwar is a Kshatriya, he is getting resonance from the community.
To save the seat, senior BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh, a prominent Thakur face, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are holding multiple rallies in Sikri and Agra to placate the Kshatriyas.
The BJP has also roped in retired Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadoria, another Thakur from Bah who recently joined the party, to pacify the Thakurs. Bhadoria held a roadshow for the BJP candidate. Chahar is mainly relying on the Modi-Yogi factor to stay afloat.
As for the Congress, its leadership is trying to put in more efforts to wrest the seat. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi is scheduled to hold a roadshow in Fatehpur Sikri on Friday.
Besides, Sikarwar has his own following. He resides in the Kheragarh village, often stays in a village temple and travels in a four-wheeler. A Kargil war hero, he retired from the Army in 2004. His popularity, especially among the deprived sections, is giving Chahar more worries.
The BSP has fielded Ram Niwas Sharma, a Brahmin, making it a quadrangular contest. Sikri has 1.75 lakh Jats, 3.5 lakh Thakurs, 3 lakh Brahmins, 1.4 lakh Kushwahas, 1.25 lakh Nishads, and Muslims and Vaishyas at 1 lakh each.