April 17, 2007
Not Sure on Home Turf,
Mulayam Looks for 'Safer'
Seat By Sharat
Pradhan
Gunnaur (Budaun)
Not so confident about his home turf Bhartana in Etawah district,
where his fate is already sealed in electronic voting machines,
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had chosen this
constituency as his second battlefield, far away from home.
In picking Gunnaur, his arithmetic was quite simple. The largely
rural constituency has the highest Yadav concentration compared to
any other part of the state, and that is what has evidently drawn
him to it.
Mulayam Singh Yadav's faith in Gunnaur is also attributable to the
fact that every single election since 1952 has sent only a Yadav to
the state assembly from here.
According to locally gathered statistics, besides 55 percent Yadav
population, the constituency has nearly 15 percent Muslim voters.
That is what probably led Mulayam Singh Yadav to identify this
constituency to contest the 2004 by-election after he became chief
minister in 2003.
And he romped home with a record margin of 193,000 votes. However, a
whopping 98 percent voter turnout aroused suspicion of rigging.
So the Election Commission decided to hold fresh balloting. The
electorate re-affirmed Mulayam Singh Yadav's victory though the
turnout this time was 93 percent.
"At that time we felt that the chief minister would forget about
this place once the election was over. But to everyone's amazement,
he not only did a lot for this place but also decided to contest
again from here," remarked Surajpal Singh Yadav, a farmer.
Rafiq, a sweetmeat seller, hailed Mulayam Singh Yadav as their "only
messiah" in all these years.
"If Mulayam Singhji were to continue from here, we will surely
become another Saifai," he remarked, referring to the chief
minister's native village that has witnessed unparalleled
development during his present stint.
According to Samajwadi Party city unit chief Mashrul Ahmad, "nearly
Rs.700 crores (Rs.7 billion) were pumped in here by Netaji (Mulayam)
towards various development projects.
These include two major bridges, a sugar mill, a 35-bed
well-equipped government hospital, two degree colleges and, above
all, uninterrupted electricity supply for at least 20 hours - which
isa special privilege in rural Uttar Pradesh.
In any case, the area is blessed also on account of its proximity to
the well-known Narora Nuclear power project.
Mulayam Singh Yadav was here Saturday to re-assure his voters: "I
will not leave Gunnaur at any cost, you can be rest assured. If I
win both seats, I will relinquish Bhartana, which lies next to my
home in Etawah."
His remark clearly reflected his lack of confidence about Bhartana.
In any case, those close to him foresee only a marginal victory in
Bhartana, while every other man on the street in Gunnaur was willing
to concede a sweep for the chief minister from here.
No wonder, therefore, Mulayam Singh Yadav makes it a point to let at
least one of his family representatives remain parked in this
constituency while he spins across the sprawling state.
Most of the time it is his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav, the Lok Sabha
member from Sambhal.
Mulayam Singh Yadav's son Akhilesh, the MP from Kannauj, is also
making frequent trips to maintain the family chord with Gunnaur.
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