The inaugural phase of the national parliamentary elections will see the casting of votes for 102 seats, spanning constituencies like Rampur, Saharanpur, Pilibhit, Nagina, Bijnor, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, and Kairana. Let's delve into the political equations at play.
Pilibhit:
Among the 8 constituencies, Pilibhit has emerged as a hotbed of political activity following the BJP's decision to sideline Varun Gandhi and declare Jitin Prasad, who jumped ship from Congress a few years ago, as their candidate.
Pilibhit's Remarkable Tiger Population
Commonly known as 'UP's Punjab', Pilibhit is a district adorned with origins of the Gomti River, lush forests, and fertile lands. Famed for housing the most significant number of tigers in the state, the region is known for its picturesque beauty worldwide. Its major crops include rice, wheat, and sugarcane. While the region is synonymous with the Gandhis, with Maneka and Varun representing it in parliament, a twist comes this election season as BJP drops Varun for the 2024 national elections and announces Jitin Prasad as its new hope. The Samajwadi Party, placing its bets on the Kurmi community, has appointed Bhagwat Sharan Gangwar as its candidate.
The geographic bounds of Pilibhit touch the frontiers of Nepal and Uttarakhand, adjacent to districts like Lakhimpur, Shahjahanpur, and Bareilly. Excluding the Behedi region, the parliamentary constituency of Pilibhit is home to a populace of approximately 2.5 million, with over 1.8 million eligible voters. A demographic breakdown reveals nearly half a million Muslims, 300 to 400 thousand farmers, and about 200 thousand Kurmi voters.
Varun Gandhi has become a subject of much speculation, once winning by around 250,000 votes. It is a matter of keen interest whether Jitin Prasad will extend this lead or whether the BJP will lose its grip on this notable seat.
Bijnor:
Alliance candidate Chandan Chauhan from RLD, while SP has fielded Deepak Saini for Bijnor. BSP's choice here is Jat leader Chaudhary Virendra Singh. With different caste-focused nominations from BJP, BSP, and SP, Bijnor is a contested ground within the alliance's seat-share, where Muslim and Dalit voters often play a decisive role.
Bijnor boasts a past where BJP has consistently seized the seat four times since the rise of the Ram Mandir movement in 1991, with SP and RLD also marking victories. The current MP from BSP is Malook Nagar, while prominent figures like former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and ex-Chief Minister of UP Mayawati have represented this constituency.
Nagina's Renowned Handicrafts:
Nagina holds particular significance as Chandra Shekhar Azad Ravan seeks to build his political foundation here. While BJP has nominated Om Kumar and SP has chosen Manoj Kumar, BSP has forwarded Surendra Singh Menwal as its candidate. The Nagina parliamentary seat is also renowned for its flourishing wooden handicraft industry, a skillful art of hand carving that generates an annual turnover of over USD 60 million, and whose products are celebrated and supplied globally. This seat is known for its significant Dalit and Muslim voting populace. Since its formation in 2009, it was first won by SP's Yashvir Singh and subsequently saw BJP and BSP victories.
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