Lucknow: The Mohanlalganj parliamentary seat in Lucknow that was created in 1962 and has witnessed 14 Lok Sabha elections until 2019 is heading for its 15th elections, with the voting scheduled on May 20 in the fifth phase of the ongoing general elections. The Congress has won the constituency five times, followed by the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — both bagging it four times each. The Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Janata Dal too have secured it once.
The reserved constituency boasts of a sizable number of scheduled caste population, predominantly Pasis.
The geographical contours of the expansive Lok Sabha segment extends for around 110 kilometers, running around the predominantly urban Lucknow constituency and bordering five districts of Raebareilly, Unnao, Sitapur, Barabanki and Hardoi.
Mohanlalganj is a mix of urban and rural areas; and therefore, while the agricultural fields dominate the length of the seat, luxury malls, swanky restaurants, car showrooms have also bloomed in the localities of Aashiana, Rajni Khand, Eldeco etc.
The seat was held by the Congress for the last time in 1984, when Jagannath Prasad secured victory. It was the Janata Dal, which snapped the victory streak of the grand old party in 1989 as Sarju Prasad rode high on the anti-incumbency wave in the area.
The incumbent BJP MP and Union Minister Kaushal Kishore has represented the seat for the last 10 years after he won the elections consecutively in 2014 and 2019. He is seeking reelection for the third consecutive term.
If the Union minister emerges victorious from here this year as well, he will equal the record of Congress’ Ganga Devi, who held the seat for three consecutive terms after winning for the first time in 1962. Her winning streak was hampered in 1977, when Ram Lal Kuril of the Janata Dal defeated her by a margin of more than 1 lakh votes. However, the Congresso more elections in 1980 and 1984.
The BJP nominee hopes to repeat his victory, making construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya his poll plank. He enjoys support of the Pasi community, to which he also belongs.
SP’s Chowdhary, a former Cabinet minister, is banking on anti-Incumbency and his popularity amongst the Pasi community, which constitutes 22% of the total voters in the Lok Sabha constituency.
The Mooknayak visited the constituency to take a stock of ground realities. Its rural areas have a sizable number of people belonging to the Pasi community. The SC group is in majority in villages like Pasin Dhakwa, Churaiya, etc. — which are situated near the Purvanchal Expressway.
Heaping praise on Chowdhary, Mayaram Pasi, a resident of Churaiya village, said, “He is a ground-level leader who visits the village regularly and has meals with them. On the other hand, we have never seen Kaushal Kishore on the ground.”
The real-estate agent and part-time actor said, “I am 42 years old and have known him since the age of 18 when he was the MLA of our area. He has done a lot of work for our area. He established a solar park in the village.”
During his stint as the minister of sports and youth development, Chowdhary is believed to have helped a lot of people.
Daya Rawat, another voter from the village, who serves in the Indian Army, said, “I used to swim in the village canal when Chowdhary arranged a swimming kit for me and facilitated my admission in a sports college in UP. As a result, I managed to get a job in the Army.”
In the neighbouring village of Ahiran Dhakwa, a Yadav-dominated village the women complain of not getting the benefits of government schemes.
Rita Yadav, a housewife, whose husband runs a small pan shop, said, “Despite being financially weak, I have not received the benefits of government schemes like toilet construction, LPG cylinder etc. I am also not a beneficiary of the Centre’s free ration scheme as I am yet to get my ration card. I have applied online for the same several times, but haven’t received it so far.”
Farmers in Mehmoodpur village said the stray cattles have turned out to be a big menace for them.
“The government gives us Rs 6,000 in three installments under the Kisan Samman Nidhi every year, but it barely compensates the damage we suffer because of the stray cattle,” complained Nadir, a farmer who also owns a shop in the village.
Despite being a Dalit-dominated seat, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) — which claims to represent the socially marginalized — has drawn blank till now.
At 38%, the seat has a substantial number of people belonging to the Scheduled Caste community to benefit the party. But the Mayawati-led outfit is yet to taste success in this seat.
The BSP was hopeful of winning for the first time in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, banking on the SP-BSP alliance, but it was dashed as CL Verma lost by a margin of 90,000 votes.
The BSP has fielded Rajesh Kumar, also known as Manoj Pradhan, as its candidate this election. He hopes to overcome the jinx of defeat.
“The candidates previously fielded by the party did not connect with the masses. I am going to voters’ doorsteps to seek their support and blessings,” he told The Mooknayak.
He said unlike in the past, the BJP will not be able to mislead the people this time. Downplaying the SP-Congress alliance, the 37-year-old real-estate agent said the alliance is immaterial as the Congress has no support here and the SP has also gone down.
“The fight therefore is between the BSP and the BJP, and the BSP has an upper hand,” he claimed.
The BSP can also take heart from the fact that despite fielding a Jatav candidate, some members of the Pasi community remain indebted to Mayawati for “unveiling” their history to the world.
Anil Kumar Rawat, a resident of Amol village in the constituency, attended the BSP rally held in Lucknow on May 13.
“Until Mayawati dusted off the history of the Pasi community, we were known as the pig-rearing community. Due to BSP’s efforts, our history was preserved,” he said.
Rawat demands that the history of his community be included in the school curriculum. He believes that only Mayawati can do it.
While the voters in villages may struggle to get basic necessities and remain aggrieved with those in power, residents of urban pockets seem to be satisfied with the functioning of the government.
Vineet Gupta, a 32-year-old trader, who lives in the Vrindavan colony, said the government has done a stupendous work in the field of infrastructure, information technology, etc. “There are some issues at the local level, but I would prefer to vote on national issues,” he said.
Ravi Kumar, a professional working in the banking sector, said the government has done a lot to improve transparency, which contributed to reduction in corruption.
Sarla Srivastava is a 43-year-old housewife and a mother of two, who live in LIG quarters. Her husband is a marketing representative, earning somewhere around Rs 20,000 to 30,000 every month.
Sarla’s two children study in a private school. She said meeting the expenditure in the time of skyrocketing inflation has become quite difficult.
“EMI of the house, school fees, electricity bill, etc. leave little money to save. In fact, we remain indebted most of the year as the earnings of my husband are insufficient to meet the expenses,” she said.
However, the issue has not wavered her faith in the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Modi ji has done a lot for the country. From scrapping Article 370 to constructing Ram Mandir, he has fulfilled all the promises,” she said.
Despite a court verdict, Sarla believes that the Modi government ensured that the temple is built timely and its Pran-Pratishtha (consecration ceremony) is publicised all over.
“We have seen the new generation embracing religiosity at an unprecedented level. My family will definitely vote for Modi,” she believes.
Though the BJP seems to have an upper hand, ensuring a third consecutive term for its candidate is surely not a cakewalk.
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