With election in four Lok Sabha seats today, all eyes set on Kairana

Elections in four Lok Sabha seats — Bhandara-Gondiya and Palghar in Maharashtra, Nagaland, and Kairana in Uttar Pradesh — that go to the bypolls on Monday, are being seen with keen interest as their result on May 31 could be a trendsetter for the 2019 general elections.

Among these, Kairana has elicited a special interest as it was Uttar Pradesh that had catapulted the BJP into the driver's seat by giving it 73 out of 80 seats during 2014 elections.

The BJP's religious outreach that had helped it blur the caste arithmetic is up for a test again in Kairana. However, unlike 2014, the Opposition is not divided but is fighting unitedly this time.

The constituency fell vacant after the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh, whose daughter Mriganka Singh is fighting Rashtriya Lok Dal's (RLD) Tabassum Hasan supported by the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.

With nearly 17 lakh voters, the five segment strong constituency of Kairana has a significant number of Muslims, Jats and Dalit voters, and thus would be a test case of whether the united opposition there can consolidate their votes like they did in Gorakhpur and Phulpur.

The BJP, on the other hand, is trying hard to woo Dalits back into its fold and keep the influential Jat community with them. Aware that a bad result can alter its fortunes in 2019, the BJP virtually pulled all stops to end its poll campaign at crescendo by holding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally on the penultimate day in next door Baghpat where he attempted at wooing both Jats and Dalits.

Besides, Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya have undertaken strenuous campaigns in Saharanpur and Shamli, while at least five state ministers have campaigned extensively in Kairana. BJP MPs Sanjiv Baliyan, Raghav Lakhan Pal, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and Kanta Kardam have also actively campaigned for Mriganka Singh.

The Opposition, however, terms this as a desperate attempt that would fall short against its unity. The withdrawal of Lok Dal candidate Kanwar Hasan from the fray and joining the RLD has added to their confidence.

According to Opposition leaders, the campaign of heavyweights would not fetch anything as farmers are angry because of non-payment of dues and lesser price for their crop than the promised MSP.

WHY THE ATTENTION

The Kairana Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh has elicited a special interest as it was Uttar Pradesh that had catapulted the BJP into the driver’s seat by giving it 73 out of 80 seats during 2014 elections.