New Delhi: On March 7, 54 constituencies voted in the final phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. These seats were spread across nine districts — Azamgarh, Mau, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, and Sonbhadra. In Ghazipur district, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar, a sitting MLA, is contesting from the Zahoorabad seat.
A former ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), this time the SBSP has sealed an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party for the Uttar Pradesh polls.
OP Rajbhar is facing a triangular contest in Zahoorabad. The BJP candidate is Kalicharan Rajbhar while Syeda Shadab Fatima is Bahujan Samaj Party's choice from Zahoorabad.
Zahoorabad was initially seen as an OP Rajbhar vs Kalicharan Rajbhar contest but the entry of Syeda Shadab Fatima has made it very interesting. NDTV talked to a few locals at a tea shop in the area and their predictions were quite interesting.
Most of them agreed that inflation, unemployment and corruption are major issues in these polls. Wakeel Singh Yadav, a resident of Zahoorabad, believes that OP Rajbhar will sail through when the results are announced on March 10. “OP Rajbhar has support from different caste groups and he will score a major victory,” he said.
Not everyone thinks so. Dhananjay Singh, another local, said that OP Rajbhar hasn't been able to keep his promises and he claimed that Syeda Shadab Fatima will be the winner from Zahoorabad. Others were of the opinion that BJP's Kalicharan Rajbhar will be the people's choice.
Some locals claimed that the division of the Rajbhar vote may help BSP. There are more than 60,000 Rajbhar voters in this seat.
A few days ago, at a public rally, OP Rajbhar had said that the departure of the BJP was imminent in Uttar Pradesh. He said, “The departure of BJP is imminent. At 10 am on March 10 songs that will play are Mere Angne Mein Tumhara Kya Kaam Hai and Chal Sanyasi Mandir Mein.”
In the 2017 polls, the BJP performed well in Ghazipur district, winning 5 of the 7 seats. The SP and BSP won one seat each.
According to the exit polls, Yogi Adityanath-led BJP is predicted to come back to power in Uttar Pradesh. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.