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Lok Sabha elections-2024:Cong relying on party-hoppers to challenge BJP in east U.P.
With Amanmani Tripathi and Sadal Prasad on board, the Congress has given a clear message that winnability will be the top priority in the selection of candidates. It will give ticket to the defectors who can break the decade-long jinx to win the seats in the area that was once the stronghold of the grand old party.
Lucknow: The Congress is trying to regain lost ground in Gorakhpur region, riding piggyback on the turncoats who have influence over their caste in the area.
Amanmani Tripathi, former MLA and son of gangster-turned-politician Amarmani Tripathi joined the Congress in New Delhi, triggering buzz that he or a member of the Tripathi family having clout over the upper caste- Brahmin community in east Uttar Pradesh might contest the coming Lok Sabha election on Congress ticket from Maharajganj Lok Sabha seat.
Earlier, former minister in Bahujan Samaj Party (2007-12) Sadal Prasad joined the Congress on March 6 in New Delhi in presence of Congress UP in-charge Avinash Pande and UP Congress Committee president, Ajay Rai. The Congress might field Prasad from Bansgaon (reserved) Lok Sabha seat located in Gorakhpur district.
Under the seat-sharing formula between the INDIA bloc partners- Samajwadi Party and Congress, 17 Lok Sabha seats have been allotted to Congress including- Maharajganj, Deoria and Bansgaon seats located in Gorakhpur region- home turf of chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had bagged Maharajganj and Kushinagar Lok Sabha seats in Gorakhpur region. In 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, riding on Modi- Yogi wave the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged all the five seats - Gorakhpur, Bansgaon, Deoria, Kushinagar and Maharajganj. The Congress was pushed to third or fourth position on the five seats.
After stitching an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress is working to challenge the might of the BJP with Muslim- OBC- Dalit formula in Gorakhpur region. Though the Congress has been allotted three out of the five seats in Gorakhpur division, it is facing dearth of strong candidates who can win the seats or give a tough fight to the BJP that has already announced to field sitting MPs on the four seats- Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Bansgaon and Gorakhpur.
The Congress is relying on the strength of turncoats wielding muscle power or influence over their caste, to mobilize the voters in the party’s support in the coming Lok Sabha elections. With Amanmani Tripathi and Sadal Prasad on board, the Congress has given a clear message that winnability will be the top priority in the selection of candidates. It will give ticket to the defectors who can break the decade-long jinx to win the seats in the area that was once the stronghold of the grand old party.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had announced to field Tanushri Mani Tripathi , daughter of Amarmani Tripathi, from Maharajganj seat but before filing of nomination paper the party replaced her with fielding party national spokesperson Supriya Srinet. Supriya’s father Harshvardhan had represented Maharajganj seat in Lok Sabha twice in 1989 on Janata Dal ticket and in 2009 on Congress ticket.
This time too, the name of Supriya Srinet is doing the rounds. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, she was on third position, while BJP candidate Pankaj Chaudhary , who has represented the seat for six terms, was the winner defeating Samajwadi Party candidate Akhilesh Singh.
Opening the door to Amanmani Tripathi, the Congress has given a clear signal that it will rely on the muscle power of his father Amarmani Tripathi and the family hold over the Brahmin community voters to challenge BJP candidate Pankaj Chaudhary. Amanmani lost the 2012 assembly election from Nautanwa seat but secured victory as an independent candidate in the 2017 assembly elections. He contested the 2022 assembly elections on BSP ticket from the traditional Nautanwa seat but was defeated by NISHAD party candidate.
On neighbouring Bansgaon seat, the Congress has roped in Sadal Prasad, a close aide of BSP chief Mayawati. Prasad contested the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections on BSP ticket and was runner -up in both the elections. Prasad enjoys influence over the Dalit community voters in the region. He secured victory from Bansgaon assembly seat in the 2002 and 2007 assembly elections. He was technical education minister in the BSP government (2007-12). With Dalit-Muslim- OBC formula, the Congress plans to challenge three-term BJP Lok Sabha candidate Kamlesh Paswan.
A political observer SK Srivastava said, “The Congress has made a tactical move in Gorakhpur region by getting Amanmani Tripathi and Sadal Prasad on board. The contest on Maharajganj and Bansgaon seats that seemed a cake walk for the BJP will become interesting as both Tripathi and Prasad will give tough fight to the BJP candidates.”
