INDIA bloc candidate Ram Nath Sikarwar canvassing in Kheragarh tehsil of Fatehpur Sikri in Uttar Pradesh on May 4, 2024. | Photo Credit: Anuj Kumar
Once the capital of Mughal emperor Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri is witnessing a quadrangular battle, a rarity in this Lok Sabha election. The contest will test the might of Jat consolidation behind the BJP and the extent of Rajput discontent against the ruling dispensation.
The ruling BJP has repeated incumbent Jat MP and president of the party’s Kisan Morcha Raj Kumar Chahar while the Congress has pitched retired Armyman Ramnath Sikarwar from the Thakur community as the Opposition INDIA bloc candidate.
After retirement, Mr. Sikarwar has been leading a simple life in an ashram in Kheragarh. Popularly called Fauji Baba, locals say before every meeting, he places a bucket at the centre of the stage and asks people for donations to run his campaign. In 2022, he contested the Kheragarh Assembly seat but lost a close contest. Yet, the slogan ‘Lucknow Main Yogi Baba, Kheragarh Main Fauji Baba’ (CM Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow, and Ramnath Sikarwar in Kheragarh) struck a chord.
Dissonance against Agniveer
Apart from the Thakur vote base, which forms the largest chunk of electors in the constituency, Mr. Sikarwar is also expecting the dissonance against the Agniveer scheme to help him create history. The area is dotted with coaching centres that help prepare students for joining the armed forces.
In his speeches, Mr. Sikarwar focuses on corruption and unemployment. “Agniveer will weaken the Army and the future of the youth. If the soldier is not sure about his future, how would he contribute his best for the unit,” he told The Hindu. On the BJP accusing him of using the Army uniform for political purposes to emotionally influence the public, Mr. Sikarwar retorted: “An Armyman never retires”.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra canvassed for him through a boisterous road show on Friday and promised the young crowd that the party would revoke the Agniveer scheme and fill vacant posts in different departments if voted to power.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) countered the move with a rally of RLD leader Chaudhary Jayant Singh on Saturday hoping that the party’s support base would help boost the ruling BJP, which is facing anti-incumbency. The BJP candidate is facing a potential division in the Jat vote because former MP and current BJP MLA from Fatehpur Sikri Chaudhary Babulal has fielded his son Rameshwar Chaudhary as an independent from the seat. The BJP spent quite some time convincing Mr. Babulal, who like Mr. Chahar began his political career in RLD before making a switch, but eventually suspended his son from the party. However, it did not oust Mr. Babulal for open rebellion against the party candidate.
At the rally, Mr. Chahar was presented as an RLD candidate, the RLD chief as the younger version of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh and Mr. Babulal was obliquely chastised without being named. Mr. Chahar apologised to people for not being visible enough during his tenure as MP.
Rinku Chahar, who was preparing for Army recruitment before the Agniveer scheme came into force, said he had come to see Mr. Singh. “Till recently, he used to speak against the scheme. I want to see whether he commits that he will make the BJP rethink. I don’t think the BJP would listen to him if it gets a huge majority.” True development, he pointed out, will come through gainful employment.
Arvind Chahar, a businessman, said the community had nothing against the BJP. “It is clear from the support for the party in neighbouring Agra seat but we want to punish the candidate here for neglecting the constituency. One seat won’t make a difference.”
BSP factor
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which is not part of the INDIA coalition, has added to the woes of the BJP by fielding a seasoned Brahmin candidate in Ramnivas Sharma. Brahmins form the second largest group of voters in the seat after Rajputs.
The Fatehpur Sikri seat came into being in 2009 and the BSP’s Brahmin candidate Seema Upadhyay bagged it in that year’s general election. In 2014, Mr. Babulal emerged victorious on a BJP ticket, and in 2019, Mr. Chahar trounced Congress candidate Raj Babbar by a margin of around five lakh votes. It is this huge margin of winning votes that is giving BJP workers confidence that Mr. Chahar will sail through this time as well.
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They are also counting on the sizeable Kushwaha and Nishad vote base that stands by the ruling party across the region. At the Agra rally last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised his OBC background and enumerated the OBC caste groups that dot the region. CM Adityanath has addressed three rallies in the constituency, while Deputy CM Brijesh Pathak has made several visits.
The party has also used the services of former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief R.K.S. Bhadauria to calm the anxious Army hopefuls. Mr. Chahar is assuring voters that piped water will soon reach the rain-deficient Sikri area under the Ganga water scheme and reminded that a branch of the International Potato Research Institute is coming up in the area.
However, it is perceptible that the seat is making the BJP anxious.
