APN News

Modi wave in SP bastion

Shivaji Sarkar

New Delhi/Kannauj,( Hindusthan Samachar)

The Samajwadi Party’s family bastion in Kannauj is crumbling if not collapsing. The road show of party candidate Dimple Yadav has said to have been damp squib on Sunday.

Dimple is wife of UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and daughter-in-law of party president Mulayam Singh Yadav. In the bye-election, two years back she was elected unopposed as neither Congress nor BJP had put up candidates against her. The seat was then vacated by Akhilesh, after he became UP chief minister. Even this time Congress has not put up any candidate against her.

The road show was organised by the party with fanfare. Preparations were made for the past many days. It had pomp and show. There was cavalcade of cars, most of it SUVs. Party flags and posters adorned them. It was a display of wealth and Yadav might.

But residents of Kannauj say it did not have the aura of similar road shows when Akhilesh contested the election in 2009 for Lok Sabha or state assembly in 2012.

The Sunday show did not lack display of wealth and pompousness. It lacked the participation of the common people from the area, said Raju Pande. The people from other areas were part of the show. Unlike on previous occasions, the local people showed less interest.

The people say that the charm of the Yadav family is diminishing. The wave of Narendra Modi has also added to the fervour. A businessman Prakash Agarwal said people had high expectations. The SP programmes would virtually lead to this area becoming a hub of real estate. The rich agriculture in this area may get hit as land is planned to be acquired for projects which would not be used for more than twice a year like the stadium. It was needed but it did not require a 1000 hectare area.

The GT Road passing through the city is in shambles because the SP wants it to turn to a toll road. It would benefit some family members as concessionaire of the new toll road would be from the family. The local people do not want it to become a toll road but they want that this becomes a proper highway to connect to Delhi by the shortest route.

The locals do not expect that happen under Yadavs. The nepotism of Yadavs has also sickened them.

In Modi, people see a savior. He is expected to change the face of Kannauj and fate of every Indian, a labourer, Mahendra Jatav, working in a cold storage, says. He says many Jatavs would vote for Modi and not “Bahanji” as Mayawati is reverentially addressed. Jatavs are traditionally voters of her party Bahujan Samaj Party.

The BSP has given Kannauj seat to a Bra

hmin, Nirmal Tiwari. Though Mayawati supporters have been casting votes at her instruction, Modi is said to be making difference in the mindset. The BSP supporters may break the tradition.

Kannauj is being given special treatment by Akhilesh and Mulayam Singh. A medical college has been set. It has a magnificent modern building. There are doctors too but not many stay there for long. So the people still go to Kanpur even for simple treatment.

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