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Mission 2024: 7 years later, ‘U.P. Boys’ to hit Agra roads again
As SP chief Akhilesh Yadav joins Congress MP Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Agra on Sunday, both parties hope to consolidate votes that were earlier divided due to confusion
Agra On February 3, 2017, the two ‘U.P. Boys’, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav moved on Agra roads, jointly seeking votes in the state assembly election which, however, gave a mandate to the BJP, with Yogi Aditya Nath becoming chief minister.
Seven years later, the twosome is once again set for a roadshow in Agra on Sunday (February 25) with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav joining the Rahul-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi also being part of show. It will be a major event as finally Akhilesh Yadav, opting to stay away from the Nyay Yatra till now, will join it for first time after the seat-sharing formula between the Congress and Samajwadi Party for Lok Sabha election 2024.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee member Madhurima Sharma said things had changed a lot since 2017. “The BJP regime has been totally exposed and has failed to provide jobs. Youths are angry, poor are suffering and the alliance this time is sure to get huge support. Opposition parties are gaining ground and coming together of SP and Congress will certainly cause a dent in already eroding base of the BJP.”
Rizwan Raisauddin “Prince”, city vice president of Samajwadi Party in Agra said that all those who were poor, oppressed and harassed under the BJP regime were seeing SP and Congress alliance as a new ray of hope.
“The alliance will consolidate votes that were divided due to confusion. The BJP is nervous because of Akhilesh Yadav ji deciding to join hands with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The rank and file of opposition parties are energised and wait for Sunday to have a tsunami of youths, minority community members and dalits on roads of Agra,” said Rizwan.
According to Hathras district Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra convenor Dr Anil Chaudhary, the ‘yatra’ will resume on Saturday from Jama Masjid crossing in Moradabad at 10 am and will cross Sambhal before having a night halt in Bulandshahr.
“The Yatra will resume on February 25 from Jamalpur in Aligarh with public address at Shamshabad Market Chowk in Aligarh and will reach Gandhi Tiraha at Hathras at noon with lunch scheduled in Sadabad. The Yatra will resume from Tedi Bagiya in Agra in afternoon on February 25 and after address at Tehra in Agra, it will reach Dholpur to enter Rajasthan later at the fag end of the day,” said Dr Anil Chaudhary.
Interestingly, all four parliamentary seats through which the Nyay Yatra will move on Sunday, namely Aligarh, Hathras (reserved), Agra (reserved) and Fatehpur Sikri were won by the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha election. According to the seat-sharing formula , the Congress will contest Mathura and Fatehpur Sikri parliamentary seat while the SP will contest Agra, Firozabad, Mainpuri in Agra Division and Aligarh, Hathras and Etah in Aligarh division of Braj.
In the 2019 parliamentary election , SP had an alliance with Rashtriya Lok Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party but it was the BJP which swept the Braj area winning Mathura, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra and Firozabad in Agra division and Aligarh, Hathras and Etah in Aligarh division with Mainpuri being the only exception which ‘dhartiputra’ (son of soil) late Mulayam Singh Yadav won for the SP.
The then UPCC president preparing for joint road show of Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav in 2017 was Raj Babbar who contested as Congress candidate in 2019 parliamentary election from Fatehpur Sikri but lost to BJP candidate Raj Kumar Chahar .
In 2017, the 10-km road show of Akhilesh and Rahul in Agra city began from Dayalbagh and ended at Dr BR Ambedkar Park . However, the Congress could not win any seat while the SP won 3 assembly seats in Mainpuri and one in Firozabad in Agra division while failing to win any assembly seat in Aligarh division .
