The entry of Raghuraj Pratap Singh’s new party has led to a four-way contest in Pratapgarh, where the feudal character of U.P. politics comes into play. Akshay Pratap Singh, his associate, a former MP, is Raja Bhaiya’s (as he is better known) candidate, and is locked in a battle with another feudal scion, Rajkumari Ratna Singh of the Congress, a descendant of the Kalakanker house.
The Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Vijay Tripathi, who lost in the MLA elections of 2017, and Sangam Lal Gupta, who defeated him, are contesting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mr. Gupta is an MLA with the Apna Dal (AD), a BJP ally, which commands the support of the Kurmis, an Other Backward Class (OBC).
While the BSP has been bolstered by the support of the Samajwadi Party (SP) voters, the BJP hopes to reap the benefits of its alliance with the AD.
Dalit ‘appeasement’
But all eyes this time are on the role Raja Bhaiya’s party plays. A scion of the former royal family of Bhadri, he launched his party with an agenda against what he alleges is the appeasement of Dalit castes through the SC/ST Act. It is late evening and his kothi in Pratapgarh is brimming with supporters sporting yellow and green scarves, the colour of his newly-launched party, Jansatta Dal-Loktantrik (JD-L), which he formed after 26 years as an independent and relevant politician. The controversial Thakur leader, who has held the Kunda Assembly seat as an independent since 1993, is busy micromanaging the campaign.
“I have known Akhilesh ji [Akhilesh Yadav] for many years and he always carried himself with adab-tehzeeb (etiquette). I have never heard him speak like this before,” Raja Bhaiya told The Hindu . He was referring to a stinging speech made by the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav against him last week in Kunda, Raja Bhaiya’s own fiefdom. The barbs have not gone well with the leader.
Downhill with SP
Raja Bhaiya’s relationship with Mr. Akhilesh Yadav went downhill last year after he, being an influential MLA and a cabinet minister under the SP government, allegedly cross-voted in favour of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls, leaving Mr. Akhilesh red-faced.
In an election speech last week, Akhilesh Yadav pulled no punches as he tore into Raja Bhaiya, his ally-turned-foe, calling him a “liar”, a “ dhamkidar ” (‘intimidator’), and said the SP had shut its doors on him forever. Mr. Akhilesh also evoked “Kshatriya” pride, and said Raja Bhaiya had been guilty of not following the pledge of “ pran jaye par vachan na jaye ” (‘life may be lost but word will be kept’).
‘What raja ?’
Mr. Akhilesh then reminded Raja Bhaiya that he had done him a favour by making him a minister, even though the SP had the majority in 2012. But the nail was hit when the SP chief challenged his fiefdom. “What raja (king)? There is no raja in a democracy. Only the public is the raja ,” said Mr. Akhilesh.
Raja Bhaiya said Akhilesh Yadav’s newfound aggression against him had been caused by the influence of Mayawati. Raja Bhaiya and Mayawati have a bitter past. In 2002, as CM, she put him in jail under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) and even raided his palace.
“Somebody has filled his [Akhilesh Yadav’s] ears. Or maybe it’s the result of his new company,” said Raja Bhaiya.
Rajkumari in fray
Ms. Ratna Singh has won from Pratapgarh thrice and is once again in the fray on a Congress ticket. Her father Dinesh Singh was a cabinet minister in the Narasimha Rao government. The antagonism between the two houses is clear in Ratna Singh’s campaign. A small stage is set at the busy Chilbila chauraha (crossroads) in the city and a motley crowd cheers on the ‘Rajkumari’ with her mentor, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari, by her side. She is concerned by the recent spate of murders of businessmen, and extortion calls. “I believe crime can only take place when somebody provides patronage to the criminals,” she said, hinting at Raja Bhaiya, whose writ looms large in this part of U.P. “Only I can secure Pratapgarh and save it from this goonda (thug) tax,” she thundered to loud claps.
Then her campaign turned personal. “Those two contesting against me, one is a Class 8 pass, the other is a sixth grade [pass]. What will they do in Delhi?” Ms. Singh asked the crowd.
She didn’t spare the BSP. “And finally, there is one more, who is mounted on a big animal [the elephant]. How much [money] did he [the BSP candidate] pay to climb to the top? Where will he extract it all from? From Pratapgarh!”
Tightly locked
The election here is tightly locked. In 2014, BJP ally Apna Dal’s Kunwar Harivansh Singh got 3.75 lakh votes, a huge jump from the 45,575 votes it secured in 2009, when the BSP got 2.07 lakh votes, Ms. Ratna Singh secured 1.38 lakh, and the SP 1.2 lakh votes.
BJP voters appear to be galvanised by the name of Prime Minister Modi.
“I don’t care about the candidate,” said a trader voting for the BJP. Although he was concerned with the law and order issues in the constituency, he put the blame on the Yogi Adityanath government and not the Centre.
Jobs biggest issue
Muslims were still undecided and the Congress hopes that Priyanka Gandhi’s roadshow will help clear doubts in this constituency, where jobs are the biggest issue and many young men are forced to migrate to cities like Mumbai and Delhi.
Shams Tabrez, a scholar, said that Raja Bhaiya would not have the same influence in the Lok Sabha seat in Pratapgarh as the Kunda segment had gone to the Kaushambi seat after delimitation. He reasons that because of this, those who fear or oppose the Thakur will mobilise behind either the BSP or BJP. He would go with the BSP. “Ratna Singh is fighting for the fourth spot. She doesn’t have the votes of other castes. Only the alliance can defeat the BJP,” he said.
When asked about Ratna Singh’s comments, Raja Bhaiya said, “The political stage is not for abusing others but to tell people your vision.” And, “The person you are talking about is not even in the race,” he said, dismissing Ratna Singh without naming her.
Most identifiable Thakur
Raja Bhaiya has the image of a ‘Bahubali’, a muscleman, and is said to be the most identifiable Thakur face in U.P. In the past, he has even been labelled “Kunda ka goonda ” by opponents, but enjoyed the goodwill of the SP and the BJP in the form of ministerial positions under the governments of Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta, Rajnath Singh, Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav, despite being an independent.
During the government headed by Akhilesh Yadav, he had to resign from the cabinet in the wake of allegations linking him to the murder of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Zia-ul-Haque in 2013. However, he was soon re-inducted after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) gave him a clean chit.
‘All alliances’
Raja Bhaiya takes pride in pointing out that, unlike his party, all the others, whether the BSP, BJP, SP or Congress, are fighting in alliances. “Nobody is confident they can go to the people on their own might. The JD(L) is not relying on [such] crutches. We believe in the people’s court,” he said.
