Stop the ‘mafias’ and ‘mafia raj’ at the top of the Lok Sabha election Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other BJP heavyweights campaigned hard in the Purvanchal region, which consists of 27 seats. Of these, 14 are seeing polls in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 25, while another 13 seats will go to polls in the seventh and final phase on June 1.
The 14 seats that voted on May 25 are Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkarnagar, Shrawasti, Dumariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj (SC), Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machlishahr (SC), and Bhadohi.
Among the remaining 13 seats that will go to polls on June 1 are the high-profile Varanasi constituency, where PM Modi is contesting for the third time, and Yogi Adityanath’s home turf of Gorakhpur, where the BJP has fielded actor-politician Ravi Kishan. Other Purvanchal seats elected on June 1 are Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandaulii, Mirzapur and Robertsganj.
Final Push
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 20 seats in the Purvanchal region in the Lok Sabha elections 2019. This time, the BJP is pushing all its weight here with PM Modi and CM Yogi leading the rally with nine and 28 rallies respectively in Purvanchal, including the unpolled seats. . At rallies, roadshows and public meetings in eastern UP, the leader addressed the state government against the ‘mafia’, saying the record of the same rivalry was also dismal.
“Not only Mirzapur, the Samajwadi Party government has tarnished the image of entire Purvanchal. They have made Purvanchal a safe haven for ‘mafias’ and created an environment of fear among the people. During the SP government, ‘mafias’ were seen as their vote bank base. But something has changed- changes in Yogi yesregime. At first they were trembling with fear and now Yogi yes‘Bulldozers and law and order that cannot be enforced have given rise to the ‘mafia’,” PM Modi said at a rally in Mirzapur.
In Ghosi, the PM accused the Samajwadi Party of neglecting Purvanchal and turning it into a “mafia, poverty and powerless area”.
Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah also praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for improving law and order in the state. “At one time, UP was completely surrounded by ‘mafia’ and mosquitoes. Our Yogi Adityanath has eradicated mosquitoes and ‘mafia’. By maintaining cleanliness, he eradicated mosquitoes and he also has the style to eradicate ‘mafia’,” said Amit Shah in Deoria.
Yogi Adityanath used the same analogy with Amit Shah in Belwar Gorakhpur on Tuesday. “Gorakhpur used to be known for mosquitoes and ‘mafia’. Now it is known for development. We have solved ‘mafia’ and mosquitoes from UP.
Can A ‘Mafia’ Pitch Work?
The big question is whether the anti-mafia tone will resonate with the masses especially when the INDIA bloc is focusing on livelihood issues like unemployment and exam paper leaks.
According to political analyst Manoj Singh, who hails from Gorakhpur district, the mosquito field may be better than the anti-mafia field. “The Yogi Adityanath government is doing a good job when it comes to development in Purvanchal district. People are praising the government for taking quick steps to prevent encephalitis. It is said”Yogi ji ne machhar khatam kar diye“, but the other part of the ‘mafia’ slogan unfortunately failed to set a narrative among people,” he said.
“The anti-mafia move may have failed to set the tone after recent political developments where Amit Shah held a meeting with ‘bahubali’ Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya and wife of mafia-politician Dhananjay Singh. Later, Dhananjay, who is an influential figure in Jaunpur, announced support to the BJP. Another development is the induction of mafia politician Abhay Singh, a rebel Samajwadi Party MP who cross-voted during the Rajya Sabha elections to the saffron party,” Singh said.
In the age of social media, people understand the mismatch between words and actions, Singh said. The political analyst added that the INDIA bloc, meanwhile, seems popular in the region, especially among the youth.
2019 Recap
Of the 14 seats in the Purvanchal region that voted in the sixth phase of the election, nine were held by the BJP in the outgoing Lok Sabha – Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Machlishahr (SC), and Bhadohi seats. BSP has won four seats in 2019 – Ambedkarnagar, Shrawasti, Lalganj and Jaunpur. SP had managed to retain Azamgarh, but lost it in the 2022 polls. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP won 13 of these 14 Purvanchal seats, while SP won Azamgarh.
Of the remaining 13 seats, the NDA won 11 in 2019. The BJP won only nine of these seats – Varanasi, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, Salempur, Ballia and Chandauli. Its ally Apna Dal (S), led by Anupriya Patel, won two seats – Mirzapur and Robertsganj. The Samajwadi Party and the Congress failed to open their accounts in these seats. (BSP), which contested the elections in alliance with SP, won two seats – Ghosi and Ghazipur.
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