He claimed that under BJP Allahabad lost relevance
Prayagraj: It’s a sweltering day in the faraway Meja block of Allahabad’s Doab district, near the Uttar Pradesh-Madhya Pradesh border. Scores of villagers, including women and children, have gathered beneath a tent outside Khoota village.
Soon after, a convoy of SUVs arrives, led by Congress officials such as former MLA Anugrah Narain Singh, Shekhar Bahuhuna, Javed Urfi, and INDIA bloc candidate Ujjwal Raman Singh, as well as Samajwadi and Congress activists. They greet residents and local party workers before seizing the microphone to address the crowd.
“In the case of a hung parliament, the BJD and YSR Congress might play a significant role. Modi has shot himself in the foot by launching an all-out attack on them for no apparent reason. In any emergent circumstance, Patnaik may feel more at ease working with the INDIA bloc. After all, he would not feel threatened by the Congress. In contrast, the BJP’s growth in Odisha is anticipated to present a significant challenge to the BJD. Andhra Pradesh’s Congress is also weak. However, the scenario there is considerably different, as Jagan Mohan’s sister Sharmila is directing the Congress campaign. Still, the YSR Congress may oppose any alliance government in which the Telugu Desam Party is a part. Even if Modi is convinced that he would win easily with no outside help, it is politically unwise to target political opponents who are frenemies,” said Shekhar Bahuguna while explaining prospects of INDIA bloc forming the government at the centre.
“What do farmers desire? Electricity, tubewells, and lift canals are used to provide water for their crops,” he opined. According to Shekhar Bahuhuna, the BJP continues to boast about its double-engine government while doing little on the ground.
He said that the local MP, state CM, and country’s PM are all BJP members, yet the party has failed to safeguard the welfare of the constituency’s residents. Their caravan continued to Khiri and a few other villages after a brief stop. Even though the mercury was not dropping, they went about on foot, greeting residents and knowing some of them by name.
Ujjwal Raman Singh, 51, is a former MLA from the Prayagraj district’s Karchhana seat and a Congress contender for Allahabad. His father, Rewati Raman Singh, is a renowned Samajwadi Party politician and two-term Allahabad MP. Allahabad Lok Sabha seat is in Prayagraj and has about 18 lakh electors, a considerable proportion of whom live in rural regions beyond the Yamuna. The district also has another Lok Sabha seat, the Phulpur constituency, which comprises the Ganga area.
The BJP fielded Neeraj Tripathi for the Allahabad Lok Sabha seat, replacing Rita Bahuguna Joshi. Neeraj Tripathi is the son of late Kesari Nath Tripathi, a BJP politician and former West Bengal Governor.
Bahuguna stated that SP leader late Janeshwar Mishra suggested an oil refinery in Allahabad in 1996, but nothing occurred. Former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav sanctioned three power plants for this region; two of them are already operational, but the BJP does not want the third in Karchhana to begin operations, he stated. The industries here were all established during the Congress government in the Naini industrial sector. I believe the BJP is doing a continual injustice to Allahabad, he stated.
If elected as MP, Ujjwal Raman stated that one of his priority will be to safeguard the Ganga River. It is not a question of event management for us; it is a matter of religion and survival, he stated, citing worries over contamination in the sacred river.
When asked if political observers see the Allahabad election as a battle between two political legacies — Singh’s father Rewati Raman Singh and BJP candidate Neeraj Tripathi’s father Kesari Nath Tripathi — he said it is not a battle of legacy, but of ideology between two parties, their programmes, and policies. “There is discrimination and step conduct in Allahabad. They do not want Allahabad to grow,” said Congress leader Javed Urfi prior to signing off.
During their campaigns, Congress leaders also emphasized concerns like as test paper leaks, stray livestock in rural regions, government employment reservations, and welfare initiatives. The Allahabad constituency will hold elections on May 25.
