Mulayam's friend-turned-foe Beni's acid test at home turf

Barabanki, Apr 18 (UNI) The assembly elections in Barabanki are being seen as a litmus test for Samajwadi Kranti Dal (SKD) chief Beni Prasad Verma, once a close confidant of Samajwadi Party supremo and Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.

A disgruntled Beni, recently severed ties with the Samajwadi Party and formed the SKD to take on his parent party.

While Mr Verma would try his luck from Ayodhya, his party candidates are contesting under the banner of Indian Justice Party (IJP) led by Dr Udit Raj, since SKD is yet to be recognised by the Election Commission. SKD and IJP have forged a pre-poll alliance.

The fate of both SKD and SP, especially in Barabanki and Bahraich districts, would be decided by the ongoing UP poll results, which would also reflect the consequences of Mr Verma's separation from SP.

Laxity in probe in the murder of zilla panchayat member, Rambhoolan Verma in Bahraich is said to be the reason of Mr Verma's angst.

Mr Verma, who is also a former Union Minister, has been alleging the hand of senior SP leader and state labour minister Waqar Ahmad Shah in the murder. He had demanded action against Mr Shah, which was not conceded to by the state government.

Meanwhile, approximately, 19.77 lakh voters, comprising Muslims, Kurmis and Yadavs in the eight assembly segments of Barabanki, would decide the fate of Mr Verma. The ruling SP has fielded Verma's former supporter Abbas Ali Zaidi from the Rudauli assembly constituency.

Mr Verma's son and former UP prison minister Rakesh Verma is face-to-face with sitting MLA and SP candidate Rajeev Kumar Singh in Dariyabad assembly seat, where 20,000 Thakur votes seem to be in favour of Mr Singh.

The BSP has taken a prudent step by fielding a Brahmin candidate Vivekanand Pandey with a view to securing the 65,000 Dalit and 20,000 Brahmin votes of the area.

However, the fight between SP and BSP would be seen in Siddhaur assembly seat, where 40,000 Kurmis and 81,000 Dalits would exercise their franchise.

In Haidargarh assembly segment, Mr Verma has fielded Vikas Yadav against SP candidate and minister of state for PWD Arvind Singh Gope, a former Lucknow University student leader also.

Almost 65,000 Muslim and Kurmi votes would decide the fate of BSP, SKD and SP in the Masauli assembly constituency, where BSP has fielded former MLA Farid Mahmood Kidwai against Beni Prasad Verma's son. After fighting for two times against Mr Verma in Masauli, Harnam Singh would represent SP. Jaidpur Nagar panchayat President Mohd Aleem Ansari is representing the Congress.

BSP candidate Sangram Singh Verma and SP candidate and sitting MLA Chotelal Yadav are face-to-face in Nawabganj assemblky seat, where SKD has fielded Yavendra Yadav. Naeem Siddiqui and Umashankar are representing Congress and BJP respectively.

Comprising 45,000 Muslim and 1,00,000 Dalit votes, Fatehpur assembly seat is said to be a challenge for SKD, BJP and BSP. BJP has fielded a sitting MLA Rajrani Rawat, while Naveen Kumar and Meera Gautam would represent SKD and BSP respectively.

UNI