Development, traffic management and public welfare are key issues in Lucknow East assembly constituency, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bastion since 1991.
The Lucknow East constituency with 4.51 lakh voters is witnessing an interesting contest this time. It goes to polls in the fourth phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly election on February 23.
Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Ashutosh Tandon ‘Gopal’, the sitting BJP MLA, is up against Anurag Bhadauria of the Samajwadi Party (SP), Ashish Kumar Sinha of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Manoj Tiwari of the Congress and Alok Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Tandon is the son of the late Lajli Tandon, one of Lucknow’s most prominent leaders and former Madhya Pradesh and Bihar governor.
The BJP’s success in Lucknow East began over three decades ago. In 1991, Bhagwati Prasad Shukla won the seat for the BJP at the height of the Ram temple wave when his party got an absolute majority and formed its first government in Uttar Pradesh. Two years later, Shukla retained the seat for the BJP though his party was no longer in power.
In 1996, Vidya Sagar Gupta won the seat for the BJP and retained it in 2002 and 2007. Five years later, veteran leader Kalraj Mishra won the Lucknow East seat for the BJP in 2012 despite the Samajwadi Party sweeping the polls. Kalraj Mishra vacated the seat after he was inducted into the Narendra Modi government as a Union minister in 2014 when he won the Deoria Lok Sabha seat. Mishra is currently the Rajasthan governor.
{{/usCountry}}In 1996, Vidya Sagar Gupta won the seat for the BJP and retained it in 2002 and 2007. Five years later, veteran leader Kalraj Mishra won the Lucknow East seat for the BJP in 2012 despite the Samajwadi Party sweeping the polls. Kalraj Mishra vacated the seat after he was inducted into the Narendra Modi government as a Union minister in 2014 when he won the Deoria Lok Sabha seat. Mishra is currently the Rajasthan governor.
{{/usCountry}}In the 2014 by-election, Ashutosh Tandon won the seat and retained it in 2017 when he defeated Anurag Bhadauria, the joint SP-Congress alliance candidate.
Days before polling, Tandon gave details of the work done in the constituency and spelt out plans for the future.
“Lucknow East has seen rapid development. The entire constituency is ODF (open defecation free). The markets are well organised. If elected again, I have plans to improve water supply in the constituency, especially in the Lavkush Nagar colony. The capacity of Kathauta Jheel would be enhanced so that it can store more water during the summer. The Bhawara Sewage treatment plant would be run at its full capacity.”
“The voters will vote for me because of the policies of BJP which has ensured overall development of the area,” he said.
Anurag Bhadauria disagreed with Tandon’s viewpoint.
“The BJP has done nothing for the area. Most of the roads are broken. The sewer network is in a pathetic condition. I have seen that many senior citizens live alone in Indira Nagar, Gomti Nagar, Vikas Nagar and Chinhat. I will run mobile health clinics and ambulances for them. I plan to create playing facilities for kids and youths as the area lacks playgrounds. Besides, I will improve the conditions of road and sewer lines,” he said.
On the other hand, Congress candidate Manoj Tiwari said his party was the only one that worked for the welfare of the Dalits in the area.
“You must remember, (Congress general) secretary and UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra came to the Dalit colony of Lavkush Nagar, adjacent to Indira Nagar in this Vidhan Sabha (assembly) constituency. We are the only party which has worked for the Dalits,” Tiwari said.
“My plan for the area is (to ease) traffic jams. We will prepare a blueprint to solve the problem of parking by a consultant. Besides, we will set up a government girls’ inter college. The other big problem is the poor sewer network. It needs to be improved with the help of IIT and IIM consultants,” he said.
Aam Aadmi Party’s Alok Singh, too, highlighted civic issues.
“Almost 60% of the population lives on open drains. Rahim Nagar, Akbar Nagar, Abrar Nagar, Lavkush Nagar, the area behind Kamta-Mulayam Nagar, Surendra Nagar, the lanes of Nishatganj, Marutipuram, Sanjay Gandhi Puram, Kalyanpur, Munshipurva and Tika Purva are facing the problem of open drains. This issue is on my priority list along with clean drinking water for each house. But groundwater exploitation needs to be stopped,” he said.
Singh further said, “Traffic jams and the pathetic condition of roads are the other issues. Road accidents are increasing. Travel time is also increasing, resulting in productivity loss. So, this problem needs to be addressed immediately.”
Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Ashish Kumar Sinha spoke about the need to remove encroachments. “My aim is to improve the pathetic conditions of roads in the area. Some localities face a perennial parking problem. I will work for new parking places in the area. Besides, encroachments need to be removed,” he said.
He said when the BSP was in power it had transformed the constituency into the best in the city with the Ambedkar Park and other memorials.
“So, people will surely vote for the BSP,” he said.