As UP heads into the second phase of the general elections, all eyes are on the triple A constituencies: Agra, Aligarh and Amroha. Additionally one should also watch out for Bulandshahar and Fatehpur Sikri.
Image: Hindustan Times
Agra:
The constituency that is home to the world famous Taj Mahal, includes the assembly constituencies of Agra (North, South and Cantonment), Etmadpur and Jalesar. Historically, it has not been the bastion of any one party as everyone from INC, to Bharatiya Lok Dal, Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party have all won from this seat.
The constituency has a significant Dalit population, including members of the Kathik, Dhobi, Valmiki, Kori and Dhanuk communities as well as over 3,00,000 members of the Jatav community from which former CM Mayawati hails. Jalesar and Etmadpur also have a significant Yadav population. Moreover, Agra also has over 3,00,000 Muslim voters. Many Dalits and Muslims working in the city’s footwear industry were affected due to demonetisation as thousands of small manufacturing units were forced to shut down.
Some key electoral issues include the pollution of the waters of the Yamuna, the demand for an international airport and a sports stadium. The incumbent is BJP’s Ram Shankar Katheria. But he will contest from Etawah as the BJP has fielded Katheria’s nemesis SP Singh Baghel from Agra. Baghel will face off against Manjoj Kumar Soni of BSP. Meanwhile former Income Tax officer Preeta Harit has been fielded by the INC.
Aligarh:
This constituency also includes the assembly segments of Aligarh, Koil, Barauli, Atrauli and Khair. The region has seen communal clashes in 2014 , 2016 and 2017. The famed Aligarh Muslim University was also in the news in October 2018, when a portrait of Mohammed Ali Jinnah was placed alongside that of MK Gandhi at a display at the university’s Maulana Azad Library. Aligarh MP Satish Gautam had written to the AMU vice chancellor Tariq Mansoor objecting to the presence of the portrait. It was quietly removed soon afterwards and the librarian was issued a show cause notice.
The caste equations in Aligarh cannot be ignored. Brahmins, Vaishyas and Kshatriyas make up approximately 7 lakh out of the total 18.73 lakh voters. Members of Jat, Yadav and Lodi castes account for about 4 lakh votes. While SC/ST voters come to about 3.5 lakh votes, Muslims also account for approximately 3.5 lakh votes.
Gautam will face off against Ajeet Baliyan of BSP and Bijendra Singh of the Congress.
Amroha:
This constituency also includes the assembly segments of Dhanaura, Garhmukteshwar, Hasanpur and Naugawan Sadat. The region not only has a significant Dalit population and violence had erupted in December 2018 following the custodial death of a 30 year old Dalit man.
Amroha is also a communally sensitive region. In May 2017, five people including three women were booked for promoting enmity between two communities.
Kanwar Singh Tanwar of the BJP is the incumbent. The Congress has fielded Sachin Chaudhry after veteran Raashid Alvi refused to contest from the seat. Meanwhile the BSP has fielded Kunwar Danish Ali Khan.
Bulandshahar:
This constituency was in the news for the brutal murder of police officer Subodh Singh in December 2018. Singh was shot dead while trying to prevent the escalation of communal violence that flared up in wake of cow slaughter rumours. Interestingly, Singh was leading the probe into the mob lynching of Mohamed Akhlaq in Dadri.
The Bulandshahr parliamentary constituency also includes the assembly segments of Anupshahr, Debai, Shikarpur and Syana. A BJP stronghold under Chhatrapal Singh since 1991, the constituency also elected BJP heavyweight Kalyan Singh 2004, though swung to Samajwadi Party’s Kamlesh Balmiki in 2009, before swinging back to the BJP in 2014.
Dr Bhola Singh is the incumbent. He faces a challenge from the Mahagathbandhan candidate Yogesh Verma and the Congress has fielded Bansi Lal Pahadia.
Fatehpur Sikri:
This constituency promises some start studded electoral action with actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar filing nomination from here. Babbar, who is the UP Congress president faces off against his own former aide Raj Kumar Chahar who is from the BJP.
The Mahagathbandhan has meanwhile fielded Bulandshahr MLA Bhagwan Sharma, but he is seen as an outsider. Sharma who also goes by Guddu Pandit was booked for violation of the Election Model Code of Conduct on three recent occasions. Recently he was in the news for threatening to beat Babbar and his supporters with shoes!
Babbar has meanwhile garnered support from the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Muslims as well as Thakurs. Thakurs, Brahmins and Jats are major castes in this constituency. Interestingly, Sharma, a BSP candidate, is a Brahmin.
The constituency was carved out of the Agra constituency and given independent status following delimitation in 2008. It also includes the Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Rural, Kheragarh, Fatehabad and Bah assembly segments. Interestingly, incumbent Chaudhry Babulal was denied a ticket by the BJP.