Ahead of the vital phases of the Uttar Pradesh elections, evidently the BJP has managed to resolve its Thakur dilemma. The previous month has been fairly eventful the place a number of occasions have unfolded.
Why BJP Needs The Support Of Thakurs?
Thakurs maintain a powerful maintain in lots of constituencies in central and japanese UP, which vote within the upcoming fifth, sixth, and seventh phases. There has been an evident discontent amongst Thakurs in west UP, who felt sidelined by the BJP in ticket distribution.
Enacting on the identical, BJP has now all of the influential Thakur strongmen in its kitty. BJP has now commanded dominance in politics of the next areas. Their leaders embody Brij Bhushan, whose affect extends to Gonda; Brijesh Singh within the Varanasi area; Raghuraj Pratap Singh, also called ‘Raja Bhaiya’, within the Pratapgarh space; Dhananjay Singh of Jaunpur; and Abhay Singh of Ayodhya. While all of them hail from east UP, their affect reaches past their respective areas.
In order to emerge victorious the social gathering made amends by nominating group leaders in key seats akin to Kaiserganj, Rae Bareli, and Mainpuri.
Jaunpur Lok Sabha Seat
Dhananjay’s spouse, Srikala Reddy, initially obtained the Jaunpur Lok Sabha ticket from the BSP, changing the incumbent MP Shyam Singh Yadav.In an surprising twist, she was later dropped as a candidate, and Yadav was reinstated.
Thereafter, Dhananjay declared his assist for the BJP, and Srikala was seen in a photograph with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
BJP leaders imagine that these developments have basically assured the Jaunpur seat for his or her candidate, Kripa Shankar Singh. Dhananjay is thought to wield affect over not solely Thakurs but additionally OBCs in Jaunpur and the neighboring Machhlishahr constituency.
Kaiserganj Lok Sabha Seat
In Kaiserganj, regardless of inside opposition, the BJP nominated the son of senior chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who had to get replaced as a consequence of allegations of sexual harassment by feminine wrestlers.
Brij Bhushan is believed to have a big affect amongst Thakurs and Kurmis in Gonda, Ayodhya, Barabanki, Basti, Balrampur, and Sidharth Nagar.
Rae Bareli And Mainpuri Lok Sabha Seat
Dinesh Pratap Singh and Jaiveer Singh are the BJP’s candidates in Rae Bareli and Mainpuri, respectively, working towards leaders of the INDIA bloc, Rahul Gandhi and Dimple Yadav.
With Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a Thakur himself, there have been whispers of him being ignored within the ticket distribution in west UP, which have now subsided. Dinesh Singh is taken into account near the CM.
Varanasi Lok Sabha Seat
Brijesh Singh, a mafia don primarily based in Varanasi, has at all times been open about his allegiance to the BJP, and notably to Adityanath. He has been out on bail since August 2022, after being acquitted in many of the 35 severe fees towards him, together with homicide. He was arrested in 2008 by the Delhi Police.
In 2016, Brijesh grew to become an Independent MLC after the BJP didn’t area a candidate towards him from Varanasi. In 2022, his spouse Annapurna Singh received the identical MLC seat in a shock victory towards a BJP candidate, sparking hypothesis about who supported her.
Brijesh is believed to have affect amongst Thakurs and Bhumihars in Varanasi, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Ghazipur, Mau, Ballia, and likewise in some districts of Bihar and Jharkhand.
Pratapgarh Lok Sabha Seat
‘Raja Bhaiya’, who has persistently received the Kunda Assembly seat seven instances, six of these as an Independent earlier than establishing his personal social gathering in 2022, is believed to have the assist of Adityanath. However, lately, Raja Bhaiya voiced his stance and mentioned, “After a meeting with party leaders and workers, a decision has been taken that the party will not support any candidate in the Lok Sabha elections. Our voters and supporters may cast their votes as per their will.”
In 2013, when Raja Bhaiya was a minister within the Samajwadi Party authorities led by Akhilesh Yadav and was charged with the homicide of Deputy SP Zia-ul-Haq in Pratapgarh, Adityanath, then a BJP MP from Gorakhpur, deviated from the social gathering line to declare that Raja Bhaiya had been wrongly accused.
Raja Bhaiya has served within the BJP governments of Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh, in addition to the Samajwadi Party authorities of Mulayam Singh Yadav, along with the Akhilesh authorities. Earlier this yr, he supported BJP candidates within the Rajya Sabha elections in UP.
He is perceived as having sway amongst Thakurs and OBCs, together with Yadavs and Kewats, within the districts of Pratapgarh and Kaushambi.
What’s The Situation In Ayodhya?
Abhay Singh, as soon as a buddy however now an adversary of Dhananjay, and the incumbent SP MLA from the Gosainganj constituency in Ayodhya, has additionally pledged his loyalty to the BJP. He voted for the BJP on this yr’s Rajya Sabha elections. His father and spouse joined the BJP final month.
Abhay is thought to be aiding the BJP within the constituencies of Ayodhya, Ambedkar Nagar, Barabanki, and Basti.
