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2024 LS polls: Much at stake for BJP in Braj region
BJP has much at stake in Braj region with 8 Lok Sabha seats. SP focuses on Mainpuri, Firozabad; Congress eyes Fatehpur Sikri. Ministers also in the race.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has much at stake in Braj region this Lok Sabha polls the result of which will come on Tuesday. Out of eight Lok Sabha seats in the region, BJP had won seven in the 2019 general election and six in 2014.
The Samajwadi Party is mainly focusing on Mainpuri and Firozabad seats that they had won in 2014 while the Congress has set its eyes on ‘Fauji Baba’, the ex-army man contesting from Fatehpur Sikri seat. Three ministers, two in the state and one at the Centre, are also having anxious moments. Union minister of state SP Singh Baghel is seeking second consecutive term from Agra (reserved) Lok Sabha seat.
Uttar Pradesh ministers Jaiveer Singh and Anup Valmiki are also contesting general election for the first time. Jaiveer Singh shot to limelight after winning Sadar assembly seat of Mainpuri in 2022 that was otherwise considered a Samajwadi Party bastion.
Jaiveer Singh was named the BJP candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha election against sitting MP and Samajwadi Party candidate Dimple Yadav. Jaiveer Singh faces an uphill task as the SP has not lost in Mainpuri Lok Sabha election since 1996.
Moreover, Anup Valmiki is eyeing entry into Parliament from Hathras from where the BJP has not lost since 1991 barring 2009 when the RLD candidate won but that too was in alliance with the BJP.
The Lok Sabha seat scoring lowest turnout was Mathura where only 49.14 % votes were polled is having cine actor Hema Malini as BJP candidate aiming for a hat-trick of victory. Other BJP candidates aiming for a hat-trick this time are Satish Gautam from Aligarh and Rajveer Singh from Etah.
It is indeed a testing time for the legacy of Kalyan Singh in Etah from where his son Rajveer Singh alias Raju Bhaiya is in the fray for third time and is challenged by Samajwadi Party candidate Devesh Shakya riding on party’s PDA (backward, dalit and minority) formula.
Out of 8 Lok Sabha seats of Braj region, two are contested by Congress and the rest by Samajwadi Party. Besides Mathura, Congress is contesting Fatehpur Sikri, a seat closely watched by poll pundits.
A retired army man Ram Nath Sikarwar popular as ‘Fauji Baba’ is the Congress candidate from the seat. Congress’s star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi led an impressive road show for Sikarwar who is pitted against BJP candidate Raj Kumar Chahar.
Chahar had defeated Congress candidate Raj Babbar by 4.94 lakh votes in 2019 but this time faces within party revolt by Rameshwar Chaudhary, the son of BJP MLA of Fatehpur Sikri Chaudhary Babulal.
