GORAKHPUR: One of the most high-profile seats, Gorakhpur, which will vote in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha polls on June 1, is considered to be the nerve centre of eastern UP politics owing to the aura of the revered Gorakshnath Peeth, influencing the outcome of over half a dozen seats of the division. Be it a Lok Sabha or state assembly election, Gorakhpur’s political fervour is infectious drawing widespread attention.
The bastion of UP CM Yogi Adityanath, who was elected to the Lok Sabha five times from here, it is also the home of the renowned Gita Press and terracotta sculptures, besides being witness to the literary prowess of Munshi Premchand and Firaq Gorakhpuri as well as the revolutionary poetry of Ram Prasad Bismil.
Once infamous for ‘mafia’ and ‘mosquitos’ (root cause of Japanese encephalitis), Gorakhpur had earned the sobriquet of ‘Chicago of East’ when the battle of supremacy between two gangsters Hari Shanker Tiwari and Virendra Pratap Shahi and their aides led to approximately 50 murders. The late 90s even witnessed the meteoric rise of gangsters like Sriprakash Shukla who has his own reign of terror both in UP and Bihar.
However, over the past few years, Gorakhpur has witnessed a massive dip in crime with mafia fiefdoms lying dissipated. Moreover, the menace of Japanese encephalitis (JE), devouring hundreds annually, has also seen a steep fall in deaths.
In the current elections, the constituency is locked in a direct fight between the BJP’s sitting MP and actor Ravi Kishan and Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate and Bhojpuri actress Kajal Nishad. The BSP’s Javed Simnani is seen as making little difference to the outcome.
A BJP stronghold, the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat was represented by Mahants of the Gorakshnath Peeth from 1989 till 2014-17. From 1989 to 1996, Mahant Awaidyanath was Gorakhpur MP followed by Yogi Adityanath who was five-time Gorakhpur MP from 1998 till 2017 till he assumed the office of UP CM.
Significantly, the BJP had been retaining the constituency for over four decades except for a short duration when Yogi vacated the seat and the BJP lost it to the BSP-backed SP candidate in 2018.
However, in the 2019 general elections, the BJP’s Ravi Kishan won it back with a margin of over 3 lakh votes securing over 60 per cent vote share against the SP’s Ram Bhual Nishad, who, as the candidate of the SP-BSP alliance, got 35 per cent votes.
In the current polls, the BJP’s Ravi Kishan, who claims to be the proxy of Yogi Adityanath, is relying on the CM and the influence of Gorakshnath Peeth besides tangible development leading to a chunk of beneficiaries.
On the other hand, the SP, which has been fielding a Nishad community candidate for the last couple of elections as the constituency has a substantial number of people from the riverine community, is once again depending on caste equations.
“The SP is banking upon not only the Muslim and Yadav vote banks but expects to get support from non-Yadav OBCs as well for they are in good number in the constituency,” says AP Srivastava, chief of the Firaq Academy in Gorakhpur.
In Gorakhpur, OBC voters are highest at around nine lakh. Among OBCs, Nishads occupy a major chunk of the population followed by Yadavs and Dalits. The upper castes, comprising Brahmin, Thakur, Bhumihar and Vaishya (Baniya), constitute around 6 lakh of the total population.
Rishi Kumar Nishad, a marginal farmer, feels that Gorakhpur needs a change this time. “We want to bring an MP of our caste this time. If the BJP wins, then it will be due to Maharaj ji (CM Yogi's) charisma. However, Nishad and Yadav voters are likely to support the SP candidate,” he says.
However, Vishnu Kumar, a shopkeeper in Gorakhpur’s Ghantaghar area, says that development is the major issue. “Roads, lights, fertilizer factory, AIIMS, sugar mill, major relief from JE through regular cleanliness drives, regular fogging, beautification of Ramgarh Tal, relief from traffic snarls besides the benefits of the welfare schemes will decide the election,” he says.
While some raise the issues of unemployment and price rise, others note the boom in the hospitality industry which has been a major job creator changing lives.
"Gorakhpur, the city is witnessing major transformation. People may have some complaints but as soon 'Baba' will campaign here, they will forget everything and vote for the BJP, while for youth it's all about Yogi and Modi here," says Prabhat Kumar who works in a private firm.
However, in rural areas like Machhligaon and Algarpur, farmers are visibly upset with the stray cattle menace and water crisis.
The law and order situation also has traction among women voters. They feel secure as “incidents like chain snatching, eve-teasing and other crimes have gone down considerably,” says Anubhuti Singh, a college student.
