Caste, not development, decides vote swings in Jalaun

JALAUN: This district with three Assembly constituencies— Kalpi, Orai and Madhaugarh—is one of the most backward in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh yet the people here are guided more by caste considerations than the abilities of the candidate while deciding who they should vote for.

In the three seats, the voters can be seen discussing the caste equations and insisting this will be the criteria on which the people will vote. Development, which is badly needed in these parts, is not a factor they weigh in while making their choice.

Kalpi seat is witnessing the most interesting contest out of the three constituencies in Jalaun. Godha Purwa, the village that bandit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi came from, is located in this constituency which has a sizable Thakur population.

The “Chaurasi (84) Thakur” families, to which the 21 men killed by Phoolan Devi’s gang belonged, are spread over this area and up to parts of neighbouring Kanpur. The killings had taken place in Behmai village, which falls under Sikandra seat of Kanpur Dehat.

Thakurs, including Sengar Thakurs, number around 50,000 in Kalpi, while Dalits are between 55,000 to 60,000. Among the Dalits, around 40,000 are Ahirwars who are BSP supporters.

Kushwahas, Muslims and Pals form the next big chunk of voters here. Uma Kanti Singh of the Congress had won Kalpi Assembly seat in 2012. She is in the fray again while Chote Singh Chauhan, who won in 2007, is the BSP candidate. He has a strong backing from the Gurjars. BJP has fielded Narendra Singh Jadaun, who is contesting his first Assembly poll.

The caste equations and opinion of local voters suggest that it is a fight between Congress and BSP on this seat. The Muslim vote, however, is getting divided. The Brahmins, present in large numbers, were supporting the BJP but some sections of this caste are likely to vote for Congress. BJP has been weak in this seat in the past elections.

“BSP had given the ticket last time to Sanjay Bhadouria and this had led to Muslims voting for Congress in protest the last time,” Faizan, a local BSP supporter said. Bhadouria stood second in 2012. He has switched to BJP now after BSP denied him the ticket.

The area is backward and lacks good medical and other facilities. “In case of serious illness one has to be rushed to Kanpur for treatment. The roads within the constituency are in a bad shape,” Raza, who runs a photostat and scanning shop, told ET.

Orai, a Scheduled Caste reserved seat, is witnessing a contest between BJP and BSP but the saffron party has an edge. This is where most of the government offices of the district are located.

Orai has a sizable Gurjar, Kori, Valmiki, Kurmi and Yadav population. Daya Shankar Varma is the sitting MLA. He got the SP ticket this time too and even filed his nomination but then candidature was cancelled. SP has now fielded Mahendra Katheria, a Valmiki, on this seat.

Gauri Shankar Varma, a Kori (weaver community) leader, is fighting on the BJP ticket while Vijay Chaudhari, a party hopper belonging to the Chamar community, is in the fray from the BSP. He was in Congress till a few months back but switched to BSP and was promptly given a ticket.

In Madhaugarh, BSP is strongly placed. Sant Ram Singh Kushwaha of BSP was the sitting MLA but has not been fielded this time. Mayawati has given the ticket to Girish Awasthi, a Brahmin, as part of her social engineering formula. Kushwahas, Brahmins and Thakurs are present in large numbers in this constituency.

Congress candidate Vinod Chaturvedi is also a Brahmin. Lakhan Singh Kushwaha was expecting a ticket from SP but after the SP-Congress alliance, he lost his chance. He has now joined BSP. Though the Kushwahas are voting for BJP due to the influence of party’s state unit chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, Lakhan Kushwaha will ensure that a section of his community votes for BSP.