Kheri, Dhaurahra set for polls but tough to fathom voters’ mood

Polling for the twin Lok Sabha seats of Lakhimpur Kheri district, namely Kheri and Dhaurahra, is scheduled on May 13.However, unlike the earlier parliamentary polls of 2014 and 2019, this time it is tough to guage the mood of Kheri voters and pollsters are busy interpreting the silence among the electorate in their own way.

Lakhimpur Kheri: With the electioneering for the fourth phase of general elections coming to a close on Saturday, hectic exercises have begun to encourage the voters to turn up at their polling booths on the day of polls.

Hectic exercises have begun to encourage the voters to turn up at their polling booths on the day of polls (Pic for representation)

Polling for the twin Lok Sabha seats of Lakhimpur Kheri district, namely Kheri and Dhaurahra, is scheduled on May 13.

On Kheri Lok Sabha seat, there are 11 candidates in fray, the prominent being from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The ruling BJP has fielded its sitting MP and union minister of state for home Ajay Kumar Mishra aka Teni (63 years), who is running for a third term and hopes to register a hattrick of his victories.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) has given ticket to its former Lakhimpur MLA 38-year old Utkarsh Verma Madhur who was earlier elected as the youngest MLA in 2010 bypolls on Lakhimpur assembly seat. The Congress, which once ruled the Kheri parliamentary seat, winning nine times form here, is away from electoral battle owing to its alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded a new political entrant, 30-year old Anshay Kalra, belonging to Amroha district and a builder by profession.

During the last fortnight, a number of star campaigners of major political parties held rallies and sought the favour of Kheri voters for their candidates. These included union minister Amit Shah, union defence minister Rajnath Singh, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, BSP national president Mayawati and SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav.

Union minister Amit Shah promised to make his party candidate Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni “even bigger” if Kheri voters elected him to Parliament while SP chief Akhilesh Yadav relived the memories of Tikunia violence and urged the voters to vote for his candidate Utkarsh Verma and thus take revenge “through votes.”

BSP chief Mayawati also highlighted the alleged repression of Kheri farmers, particularly Sikhs, and sought the support of voters for Anshay Kalra.

However, unlike the earlier parliamentary polls of 2014 and 2019, this time it is tough to guage the mood of Kheri voters and pollsters are busy interpreting the silence among the electorate in their own way.

Going by rallies, Kheri people disappointed none and almost in every rally of every political leader irrespective of his or her party, they gathered in large numbers, making the poll equations even more complex.

Now all eyes are on their participation on the polling day and efforts are on to persuade them to exercise their franchise in large numbers.

Kheri Lok Sabha seat:

Assembly segments: 5 (Palia, Nighasan, Srinagar, Gola and Lakhimpur)

Voters: 1870170 (Male: 991805 Female 878323 Third Gender: 42

Poll % 2019: 64.19%

2019 winner: Ajay Kumar Mishra, BJP, 609589 votes

2019 runner-up: Dr. Purvi Verma, SP, 390782 votes

2014 winner: Ajay Kumar Mishra, BJP, 398578 votes

2014 runner-up: Late Arvind Giri, BSP, 288304 votes

Dhaurahra seat

Lakhimpur Kheri: As many as 12 contestants have been left in the fray for the Dhaurahra Lok Sabha seat, which would go to polls on May 13 along with the adjoining Kheri Lok Sabha seat.

Dhaurahra parliamentary seat comprises three assembly segments-Dhaurahra, Kasta and Mohammadi of Kheri district and two- Maholi and Hargaon of Sitapur district. It came into existence in 2009 after the delimitation of constituencies.

Here, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded its national vice president and sitting MP Rekha Arun Verma again, who won the seat in 2014 and 2019. Relying on the mass popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and her strong support base in the constituency, Rekha Arun Verma is confident of winning the mandate again. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, UP deputy chief ministers Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya and several other party leaders held rallies in her constituency and attempted to mobilize the voters in her favour.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has nominated Shyam Kishor Awasthi, who switched to BSP from his erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just a few weeks before the announcement of the general elections. Awasthi’s hopes for his victory are based on the strong BSP cadre votes in the constituency besides his strong community support. To boost his poll prospects, BSP chief Mayawati in her Lakhimpur rally urged the voters to vote for Awasthi.

The Samajwadi Party has fielded former MLC Anand Bhadauriya, who is making all efforts to woo the voters in his favour. Bhadauriya is confident of garnering the support of his party’s traditional voters to sail through his electoral battle. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav held a recent rally in Kasta in Dhaurahra constituency and the huge tendance of people boosted his morale.

Assembly segments: 5 (Dhaurahra, Kasta, Mohammadi, Hargaon and Maholi)

Voters: 1719345 (Male: 917123 Female 802143 Third Gender: 79

Poll % 2019: 64.68%

2019 winner: Rekha Verma, BJP, 512905 votes

2019 runner-up: Arshad Iliyas Siddiqui, BSP, 352294 votes

2014 winner: Rekha Verma, BJP, 360357 votes

2014 runner-up: Daud Ahmad, BSP, 352294 votes