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Column - UP polls: Now it is the turn of the east

The year marks a quarter century of the demolition of the disputed shrine in Ayodhya, and the memories of that fateful day in December 1992 are still fresh in the minds of old timers.

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The plains of eastern Uttar Pradesh have always been highly politicised and rebellious. Egos of the people are on the short fuse all the time and insults are not taken lightly. It is a region dotted by ancient temples and vast fields, and even if not much development or industrial activity is visible, the people have an opinion about everything.

Amit Shah

There was a time when the Ram temple issue emanating from the events of 1989-1992 had triggered off political and social upheaval across the country. Although the temple is not close to being built in view of the matter being subjudice, the issue is regularly raked up at times it is suitable to politicians. But this year, the run-up to the fifth phase of polling due on February 27 in 52 constituencies including Ayodhya, has not seen a serious effort to make the temple into an election issue.

Could it be because of the studied avoidance of the issue by Bharatiya Janata Party's top campaigner Prime Minister Narendra Modi? Or the general disinterest of the people in the region could be responsible for parties preferring not to talk about it?

The constituencies in 11 districts that will see polling on February 27 include Amethi, Sultanpur, Ayodhya, Bahraich and Basti. Except for certain pockets, none of the districts have a predominant minority population. The region has seen localised communal clashes as well, especially in the town of Tanda a few years ago. Some districts like Bahraich, Balrampur, Basti share the international border with Nepal, and have seen a mushrooming of religious structures in the past years.

The year marks a quarter century of the demolition of the disputed shrine in Ayodhya, and the memories of that fateful day in December 1992 are still fresh in the minds of old timers. Ayodhya has remained stuck in a time warp especially in view of the security restrictions in the temple town, while the adjoining Faizabad town has seen some new construction and development of roads. The Cantonment in Faizabad is an old one, having been established by the British Government in 1856 AD. The British Infantry was located in this Cantonment till World War II even though no major battle had been fought here.

The Ram temple is more an item of faith than a political issue for most people in Ayodhya, and they agree that the issue is now being used for politics by all parties. Since the BJP has also claimed that a solution to the issue would depend on the court verdict in the case, it is no longer an election issue. Even Modi has refrained from attaching any hype to the temple issue in his rallies so far.

The region, often termed neutral territory in UP, has had no particular affinity for any political party and in the past few elections the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party have had their sway over most constituencies. The Bahujan Samaj Party also has had its stronghold in places like Tanda and Akbarpur, but lost them to the SP in 2012. While the challenge for the SP is to retain their seats, the BSP and the BJP appear determined to make things difficult for the SP.

The alliance between the SP and Congress is seriously fractured in Amethi. In this high-profile contest, Congress leader and erstwhile Amethi royal Sanjay Singh's wife Amita Singh is pitted as Congress candidate against the Samajwadi Party's Gayatri Prajapati and Sanjay Singh's previous wife Garima Singh who has been fielded by the BJP. While for Sanjay Singh it is a matter of prestige, local sentiment seems to run in favour of his ex-wife Garima who is still regarded as maharani by the people of Amethi.

Another interesting place in this round is Bahraich. It is remarkable that Prime Ministers make it a point to come here for campaigning. Be it Manmohan Singh or Narendra Modi, they have always included Bahraich in their campaign itinerary. This border town, close to the jungles of the Tarai and once a hotbed of smuggling and pro-Khalistan extremism, is a bustling, crowded place dotted with grain markets and cold storages. SP's Waqar Ahmed Shah has been winning this seat since 1993 but since he has been unwell for several years, this time the BJP and the BSP are looking for an opportunity to dislodge the SP.

The word of mouth reports of polling trends in the previous four rounds will influence the voters in this area to some extent. Till then, the campaign speech by Modi in Basti and Bahraich and by Akhilesh Yadav in Bahraich have given the people much food for thought.

OneIndia News

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