The battle for Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh is being closely watched by many. Whether Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav will be able to surpass her father-in-law, late Mulayam Singh Yadav’s 2014 Lok Sabha Polls record-victory-margin of 3.64,666 votes is a big question on everyone’s mind here. Though UP’s political analysts say it wouldn’t be a cakewalk for Dimple, as unlike last time there will be no ‘sympathy wave’, some people hailing from Mainpuri, the stronghold of Samajwadi Party, hailed INDI alliance and said that Dimple ‘Bhabhi’ would “certainly win that too with a bigger margin”, crossing the mark of 4 lakh votes. Besides, some people also said that though they will vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), it’s Dimple who is going to win from Mainpuri.
‘INDIA gathbandhan dumdaar, abki baar Picchda Dalit Alpsankyak (PDA) Sarkaar, aur Dimple Bhabhi is baar 4 lakh paar (Dimple’s winning margin)’– the people gathered at Mainpuri’s Kareemganj raised these slogans to greet former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav at her election campaign on Friday.
UP’s political analysts say that Dimple may win from Mainpuri, which has been an SP bastion for decades, but surpassing the victory margin of 4 lakh votes won’t be that easy for her. “This time it won’t be easy for Dimple to cross the victory margin of 4 lakh votes. Though last time, in 2022 Mainpuri byelection, which was necessitated after the seat got vacated following the death of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav on October 10, 2022, Dimple Yadav won with the margin of 2.8 lakh votes, but that time it was a sympathy wave. But, it is not the case this time. Hence, winning by a margin of 4 lakh votes won’t be a cake walk for her this time,” said Shashikath Pandey, a political analyst and HOD Department of Political Science, Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow.
However, some locals said that they would ensure that Dimple ‘Bhabhi’ wins with a record margin. “Infalation is at its peak. People are suffering, the skyrocketing prices of the veggies and other edibles is burning holes in the pocket. Besides, unemployment has made the scenario even worse. People want change, we will vote for a change and will bring Dimple ji to power,” Shailendra Yadav, a local who hails from Purawali area of Mainpuri told News18, which traveled to Mainpuri to feel the pulse of the people and to capture people’s mood ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha Polls.
Jyotsna Singh, another local from Mainpuri, who came all the way to Kareemganj to attend Dimple’s Chaupal, said the sitting MP has done nothing for the constituency and that people here were struggling to lead a normal life, and poor development has added to the woes of the people. Besides, the youths also highlighted the issue of Agniveer Scheme, blaming the BJP government for “spoiling the future of the youths.”
In stark contrast to those who came out in support of Dimple Yadav, there were some who said that though they would vote for the BJP, Dimple will win the Mainpuri Lok Sabha Seat. Besides, they also praised the BJP for the streamlined law and order situation in UP.
The Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat is considered among the strongholds of SP and is one of the main constituencies in the entire Yadav belt comprising districts including Kannauj, Etawah, Firozabad and Etah. Mainpuri seat comprises five Assembly segments including Mainpuri, Bhongaon, Kishani(sc), Karhal, Jaswantnagar. The constituency is a general seat.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had won the seat by a margin of 94,389 votes. Mulayam Singh Yadav was polled 524,926 votes with a vote share of 54.00 % and defeated Prem Singh Shakya from BJP who got 430,537 votes (44.01 %). In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, Mulayam Singh Yadav had won the seat and was polled 595,918 votes with a vote share of 59.63%. BJP candidate Shatrughan Singh Chauhan got 231,252 votes (23.14 %) and was the runner-up. Mulayam Singh Yadav had defeated Shatrughan Singh Chauhan by a margin of 364,666 votes. However, in 2022, Dimple Yadav won Mainpuri byelection, which was necessitated after the seat got vacated following the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav on October 10, 2022, by a margin of 2.8 lakh. In the bypolls, Dimple Yadav secured 6,18,120 votes while BJP candidate Raghuraj Singh Shakya got 3,29,659 votes.
However, in 2024 Lok Sabha Polls, the BJP has fielded UP tourism minister Jaiveer Singh and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded Shiv Prasad Yadav from Mainpuri Lok Sabha Seat. While campaigning for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha Seat, which has been with SP since 1996, UP’s ‘bahu’ has been targeting BJP over the issues of unemployment, Agniveer Scheme, which, she said, has ruined the future of the youths. Besides she also raised issues like paper leak and inflation and blamed the BJP Government for diverting people’s attention from grave issues. However, on the other hand, BJP candidate Jaiveer Singh has been carrying out aggressive canvassing to woo the voters and assure his victory from the seat.
Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.
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