Phulpur Lok Sabha: BJP’s victory hinges on the fragmentation of Kurmi and Dalit votes, no dilemma seen among Muslims.

Prayagraj, this seat of the country’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru has been dominated by the Samajwadi Party after the weakening of the Congress. The main reason for this was that the most influential Kurmi votes in terms of numerical strength were with SP.

Published by: Vinod Singh

It has become difficult to read the election winds of Phulpur parliamentary seat. The entire election has depended on how successful the BJP has been in stopping the fragmentation of Kurmi and Dalit voters. BSP seemed to be left far behind in the winds of BJP and alliance. In such a face-to-face fight, the equations have become more complicated.

Samajwadi Party has been dominating this seat of the country’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru after the weakening of Congress. The main reason for this was that the most influential Kurmi votes in terms of numerical strength were with SP. Apart from this, Muslim voters also remained with SP but with the entry of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the country’s politics, Kurmi voters joined BJP while Other Backward Caste and Dalit voters also showed polarization in favor of BJP.

The dispersion of about three and a half lakh Kurmi votes, which were with the BJP in the last elections, was clearly visible. Experts say that up to 30 percent Kurmi votes have gone with SP. SP’s strategy of giving ticket to Amarnath Maurya and making Shyam Lal Pal the state president during the elections also seemed to be successful to a great extent. Maurya, Pal and other backward caste voters, who were seen strongly with BJP, also showed inclination in favor of SP.

Apart from this, BSP did not appear very strong in this election. Even in the 2019 elections, BSP was not very strong here and the votes of Dalits went with BJP, but this time around three lakh Dalit voters showed silence at the booth also. It is being told that this time, apart from BSP and BJP, SP has also made inroads into the Dalit votes.

If we look at the caste equation in Phulpur seat, there are three and a half lakh Kurmi voters and three lakh Dalit voters. Apart from these, the number of Brahmin voters is 2.5 lakh, Kayastha are about 2.25 lakh, Kshatriya is one lakh. In this way, a large part of about five and a half lakh upper caste voters were seen with the BJP. At the same time, about two lakh 15 thousand Muslim and two lakh Yadav voters were seen completely with SP.

There was no dilemma of any kind regarding voting among Muslim voters. The same situation was seen among Yadav voters also. It is also worth noting here that long queues were seen at the booths in Muslim dominated areas. Looking at these equations, the role of Kurmi and Dalit votes has increased and the entire election has become dependent on how they are dispersed.

Demolition was also an issue

The demolition of houses and shops for road construction and other development works continues. Houses have been demolished not only in the city but also in areas like Soraon, Phulpur etc. Its effect was visible in the elections also. Voters affected by this appeared angry with BJP. Sandeep Kesarwani of Muthiganj said that most of the traders have been affected by the demolition, who are the core voters of BJP, but this time there was resentment among them.

Courtesy: Hindi News