For Devendra Pandey, 62, it is a tough choice to decide which way he will vote. A resident of Bairia in Ballia, Mr. Pandey remained a supporter of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar for long but is confused whether to support his son Neeraj Shekhar, who is contesting on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) symbol.
“Last time I voted for the SP, but it is a difficult choice this time. I have to listen my inner conscience,” he added calling himself influenced by socialist ideas.
The prestigious seat of Ballia, in Eastern U.P. once synonymous with Chandra Shekhar, a socialist leader is likely to witness to a close contest between Mr. Shekhar of the BJP and Sanatan Pandey of the Samajwadi Party (SP) with caste mobilisation playing a key role in the election. Last time Mr. Pandey lost merely by a margin of 15,000 odd votes against Virendra Singh Mast of the BJP.
“It is difficult to predict anything. Top leaders held rallies but the SP candidate is banking upon a formidable Brahmin-Muslim-Yadav social alliance, which is roughly 35-40% of the total votes,” local resident Shaligram Chaurasia said. In Ballia, Rajput candidates have won 14 of the 18 times the seat went to vote; this includes the late Chandra Shekhar who won on eight occasions while his son Neeraj Shekhar won twice. In 2014, the present BJP nominee contesting as the SP candidate lost by over 1,39,000 votes.
Mr. Shekhar and the BJP leaders are making an aggressive outreach towards Brahmin community highlighting the nationalistic plank of the ruling dispensation and invoking Ballia’s rich legacy with freedom movement icons like Mangal Pandey and Chitu Pandey association with the district.
“To honour the legacy of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, the BJP has fielded Neeraj Shekhar as its candidate. I pay my tribute to the great freedom fighters Mangal Pandey and Veer Chittu Pandey,” U.P. CM Yogi Adityanath said, while campaigning for the BJP candidate. Mr. Shekhar was also artfully invoking his father’s association with the other caste combines of Ballia, including Brahmins. The BJP campaign pitch also revolves around its development initiatives in Ballia. “We established a Government Polytechnic, Government College, and Inter College here. No stone is left unturned to develop the district, which is the pride of the State,” Mr. Adityanath asserted.
The Bhumihar community which consists of roughly one lakh voters in Ballia will also be crucial in deciding the outcome. The community is majorly in Mohammadabad and Zahoorabad Assembly segments which is in Ghazipur district. Out of five Assembly seats under Ballia Lok Sabha, remaining three seats of Ballia Nagar, Phephana, Ballia Nagar and Bairia are under Ballia district. The SP is considered strong in the region as it won three out of five assembly seats coming under Ballia Lok Sabha in 2022 Assembly election.
The SP nominee is focusing upon localised issues like migration from the district to bigger industrial cities, but also invoking Ballia’s ‘Baagi’ (rebel) character associated with Chandra Shekhar adding it is him and the SP who are real followers of the socialist leader.
“Respected Chandra Shekharji is our collective heritage, but whom he opposed ideologically all his life every person in Ballia knows, we are real inheritors of his ideas,” Mr. Pandey said, in one of his speeches.
