Farmers Movement Archive

Old guard off poll field, new blood sets up fight for supremacy

Meerut: Bulandshahr Sadar assembly constituency is poised for a multi-cornered contest as besides four major parties – BJP, Congress, SP and BSP – other outfits wielding influence in west UP are also leaving nothing to chance in poll battle.The seat fell vacant after the death of BJP MLA Virendra Sirohi due to illness in March this year. Sirohi had won the seat in a close contest in 2017.After much brainstorming, BJP decided to field Usha Sirohi, widow of Virendra Sirohi from the seat. According to BJP insiders, it was a tough decision for the party as both the sons of the former MLA were vying for ticket to carry forward their father’s political legacy. Usha Sirohi is up against BSP’s Younus Khan, again a new entrant in politics who has inherited the political legacy of his brother Haji Mohammed Aleem Khan, a BSP leader and two-time MLA from the seat, who died under mysterious circumstances in 2018. BSP does not seem to be comfortably placed in the constituency which is dominated by over 1 lakh Muslim and 52,000 Dalit voters, as the Congress, All-India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Azad Samaj Party (ASP) have fielded Muslim candidates.The recent turnout in ASP chief Chandrashekhar Azad's event at Numaish ground in Bulandshahr has sent a message to rivals that his party should not be taken for granted.A resurgent Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) does not want to go down without a fight. The party recently held a series of mahapanchayats in several west UP districts, including one in Bulandshahr. It has been categorically targeting the ruling BJP over the controversial farm bill, law and order and lathi-charge on party vice-president Jayant Chaudhary in Hathras. There are approximately 40,000 Jat voters in Bulandshahr Sadar whose support seems to be divided between the BJP and the RLD.RLD hopes to benefit from its alliance with the Samajwadi Party though it received a setback after Kiranpal Singh, a prominent Jat leader in SP, who switched sides and joined the BJP recently. As of now, only BJP, RLD and ASP have held big events while all other parties are relying on door-to-door campaigns and mohalla meetings.Giving rest to speculations, a source in the Congress confirmed that party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would not campaign in the bypoll.BSP insiders also said their campaign would be a low-key affair. Candidates In The Fray:Usha Sirohi, BJPAfter the death of its sitting MLA Virendra Singh Sirohi, the party has fielded his wife, Usha Sirohi. Her sons, Digvijay and Vinay, were lobbying for ticket for themselves, but the party decided in Usha’s favour.Praveen Singh, RLD-SP allianceSamajwadi Party has left the seat for its ally RLD which has fielded Praveen Kumar Singh as the alliance candidate. Singh is a resident of Bhatauna village in Bulandshahr. He is the son of late Jagbir Singh, who represented UP in Rajya Sabha from April 1974 to April 1980. Jagbir also served as Union minister of state in the ministries of Information and Broadcasting and Defence between August 1977 and June 1980.Mohammad Yunus, BSPMohd Yunus, 49, a resident of Mirchi Tola colony in Bulandshahr. According to his affidavit, Yunus is a ‘crorepati’ and has four cases against him. Sushil Chaudhary, CongressHe has been a Congress member for years and has also contested for the post of nagar palika chairman.

The Times of India

2020-10-29

Meerut