LUCKNOW:
Rahul Gandhi
’s candidature from Rae Bareli has brought back the focus on
political legacy
being passed on from one generation to the next.
Rahul has replaced mother Sonia Gandhi who had represented the seat since 2004 until her election to the Rajya Sabha this year. Rae Bareli shares a strong connection with the Gandhi family. It was represented by Rahul’s grandfather Feroze Gandhi in 1952 and 1957 and later by his grandmother Indira Gandhi in 1967 and 1971.
A similar trend is seen in four more seats in Uttar Pradesh — Kaiserganj, Bahraich, Kairana and Bijnor — where parents have passed on the baton to their children.
Kaiserganj: BJP has replaced incumbent MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh with his younger son Karan, who is making his political debut. Karan’s elder brother Prateek Bhushan is an MLA from Gonda. Brij Bhushan was elected MP from Kaiserganj thrice in 2009, 2014 and 2019 and was persuaded by the BJP to pass on his legacy to Karan.
Bahraich: BJP has replaced sitting MP Akshaibar Lal Gond with his son Anand Gond. Anand, whose educational qualifications include an MBA and PhD, is involved in social activities in the region. Akshaibar, a BJP veteran, has been a five-term MLA. He won from Charda reserved seat in 1991 and then thrice from Ikauna (1993, 1996 and 2002). In 2007, he lost to Ram Sagar Akela of BSP. BJP denied him a ticket in 2012, while fielding Savitri Bai Phule. Phule later won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Bahraich making way for Akshaibar who won the Balha seat in 2017. However, considering his long association with the party, BJP decided to field him from Bahraich.
Kairana: Here debutante Ikra Hasan entered the fray. The seat was once represented by her mother Tabassum Begum. Begum had won Kairana in the 2018 bypoll following the demise of BJP veteran Hukum Singh. Begum, who had contested on a RLD ticket, was backed by the SP. She had defeated Hukum Singh’s daughter Mriganka, and was the first Muslim candidate to get elected to the Lok Sabha from UP after 2014. Ikra is the sister of Kairana’s SP MLA Nahid Hasan.
Bijnor: Chandan Chauhan, who made his debut from Bijnor on an RLD ticket, is the son of former Bijnor MP Sanjay Singh Chauhan who won the seat in 2009, when RLD had a tie-up with the BJP. Chandan, who comes from Gurjar community, is sitting RLD MLA from Meerapur seat.
