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MAINPURI: An angry UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath descended on Mainpuri and slammed Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav as “pendulum” and “football” who keeps swinging sides. His derision was directed at the “chachaji” mending fences with “bhatija” Akhilesh Yadav, and throwing his weight behind “bahu” Dimple Yadav in the high pitched Lok Sabha battle necessitated by Mulayam Singh Yadav’s death.
But Akhilesh has since seized upon the jibe to poke fun at the CM by explaining pendulum to simple villagers as “a type of jhoola” (swing). “Hamare chachaji aisa jhoola jhulayeinge ki mukhya mantri ko pata nahin chalega kya hua” (our uncle will put the CM on a swing that he would not realise what happened). As with the CM’s barb, so with the unending riposte from Akhilesh, the reactions are guffaws and mirth.
But the levity on the campaign trail in the Yadav heartland barely hides the cut-throat competition among the rivals. Having just lost the LS bypolls in the Samajwadi den of Azamgarh and Rampur, Akhilesh is running from village to village to defend the ultimate fief cultivated by late “netaji” over five decades. His refrain is “netaji” and where he brought Mainpuri from the days of “desert land” and “non-existent roads” – a clear “sympathy card” for the “dhartiputra” (son of the soil). Confronting the SP is the ascendant BJP which is straining every sinew to breach the hitherto unvanquished Yadav turf.
The BJP strategy is the tactic that it has adopted post-2014 – a division in OBC votes by luring non-Yadav communities. The decision to field Raghuraj Shakya, a former SP MP, is aimed at winning over the significant Shakya community besides some other backwards, and consolidating them behind upper castes, who are not insignificant in this rustic belt. The absence of BSP from the contest also raises the question about which side will its traditional votes go.
Though known as SP turf, Mainpuri presents a mixed picture. While three of the assembly segments – Karhal (Akhilesh), Jaswantnagar (Shivpal) and Kishni (reserved) are with the SP, Mainpuri (city) and Bhongaon are with BJP. Interestingly, the two BJP MLAs represent upper caste Thakur and Brahmin (Jaiveer Singh and Ramnaresh Agnihotri). In the clash of prestige, candidates Dimple Yadav and BJP’s Shakya are mere side players. It is “Adityanath vs Akhilesh” for all to see. “There is no contest. BJP is trying every tactic, but it does not matter,” Akhilesh said.
But the casual dismissal of BJP’s prospects is in stark contrast to the crowding SUVs, frenetic activity, and general humdrum at the BJP headquarters in the heart of the town. It appears to be a party on a mission. Managing to wrest Mainpuri will be a major achievement for BJP. Forever known as the Yadav fief, BJP has been trying hard to overcome the last frontier of sorts since its advent as a hegemonic force in UP post-2014.
The story coming out of Mainpuri is the mending of fences between the warring uncle and nephew, in the wake of Mulayam’s death. It is evident in the rallies that they address – solo or together. At a rally in Takha block, Shivpal was so accommodating of Akhilesh that he said, “Akhilesh hum chahte hain ki UP ki janta aur desh ki janta tumko ‘chhote netaji’ ke naam se pukare (Akhilesh, I want the people of UP and the country call you ‘junior netaji’).” It was an unambiguous acceptance of the nephew’s leadership as Mulayam’s heir.
But Akhilesh has since seized upon the jibe to poke fun at the CM by explaining pendulum to simple villagers as “a type of jhoola” (swing). “Hamare chachaji aisa jhoola jhulayeinge ki mukhya mantri ko pata nahin chalega kya hua” (our uncle will put the CM on a swing that he would not realise what happened). As with the CM’s barb, so with the unending riposte from Akhilesh, the reactions are guffaws and mirth.
But the levity on the campaign trail in the Yadav heartland barely hides the cut-throat competition among the rivals. Having just lost the LS bypolls in the Samajwadi den of Azamgarh and Rampur, Akhilesh is running from village to village to defend the ultimate fief cultivated by late “netaji” over five decades. His refrain is “netaji” and where he brought Mainpuri from the days of “desert land” and “non-existent roads” – a clear “sympathy card” for the “dhartiputra” (son of the soil). Confronting the SP is the ascendant BJP which is straining every sinew to breach the hitherto unvanquished Yadav turf.
The BJP strategy is the tactic that it has adopted post-2014 – a division in OBC votes by luring non-Yadav communities. The decision to field Raghuraj Shakya, a former SP MP, is aimed at winning over the significant Shakya community besides some other backwards, and consolidating them behind upper castes, who are not insignificant in this rustic belt. The absence of BSP from the contest also raises the question about which side will its traditional votes go.
Though known as SP turf, Mainpuri presents a mixed picture. While three of the assembly segments – Karhal (Akhilesh), Jaswantnagar (Shivpal) and Kishni (reserved) are with the SP, Mainpuri (city) and Bhongaon are with BJP. Interestingly, the two BJP MLAs represent upper caste Thakur and Brahmin (Jaiveer Singh and Ramnaresh Agnihotri). In the clash of prestige, candidates Dimple Yadav and BJP’s Shakya are mere side players. It is “Adityanath vs Akhilesh” for all to see. “There is no contest. BJP is trying every tactic, but it does not matter,” Akhilesh said.
But the casual dismissal of BJP’s prospects is in stark contrast to the crowding SUVs, frenetic activity, and general humdrum at the BJP headquarters in the heart of the town. It appears to be a party on a mission. Managing to wrest Mainpuri will be a major achievement for BJP. Forever known as the Yadav fief, BJP has been trying hard to overcome the last frontier of sorts since its advent as a hegemonic force in UP post-2014.
The story coming out of Mainpuri is the mending of fences between the warring uncle and nephew, in the wake of Mulayam’s death. It is evident in the rallies that they address – solo or together. At a rally in Takha block, Shivpal was so accommodating of Akhilesh that he said, “Akhilesh hum chahte hain ki UP ki janta aur desh ki janta tumko ‘chhote netaji’ ke naam se pukare (Akhilesh, I want the people of UP and the country call you ‘junior netaji’).” It was an unambiguous acceptance of the nephew’s leadership as Mulayam’s heir.
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