UP polls: Rajbhar factor plays key role in over 20 constituencies in parts of Purvanchal
The Samajwadi Party had tied up with the SBSP led by Om Prakash Rajbhar before the UP polls. The alliance won all seven seats in Ghazipur district in this election and bagged three seats out of four in Mau and four out of seven in Ballia.
Playing a crucial role in over 20 assembly constituencies of east UP, the Rajbhar factor helped the Samajwadi Party-Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SP-SBSP) alliance do well in the region, particularly in Ghazipur, Ballia and Mau districts of Purvanchal. The Samajwadi Party had tied up with the SBSP led by Om Prakash Rajbhar before the polls. The Rajbhar community has a sizeable presence in many of these constituencies.
The SBSP’s tally of assembly seats increased to six in 2022 from four in 2017 when it was a BJP ally. This time, the SBSP partnered with the SP and won Zahoorabad and Jakhania in Ghazipur, Belthara Road in Ballia, Mau Sadar in Mau, Zafrabad in Jaunpur and Mahadeva in Basti.
As for the SP-SBSP alliance, it won all seven seats in Ghazipur district in this election and bagged three seats out of four in Mau and four out of seven in Ballia.
In Azamgarh, the SP won all 10 assembly seats. Azamgarh is the parliamentary constituency of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and a stronghold of his party.
In 2017, the BJP and its ally won five seats in Ghazipur, five in Ballia and three in Mau. In Azamgarh, the BJP won just one seat out of 10 five years ago.
This time, in Ghazipur, SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar retained the Zahoorabad seat and also helped the SP win six other seats. The SBSP chief enjoys the substantial support of his community.
In 2017, the BJP won three seats, the SBSP and the SP two seats each in Ghazipur.
The BJP won five of the seven assembly seats in Ballia in 2017 when it was in alliance with the SBSP. This time, the BJP, along with its ally Nishad Party, won only two seats in Ballia. Dayashankar Singh of the BJP won the Ballia Nagar seat and Ketaki Singh of BJP was victorious in Bansdih.
The SP-led alliance won four seats in Ballia —Belthara Road went to the SBSP while the SP bagged the Phephna, Sikanderpur and Bairia seats. The BSP won the Rasara seat.
In 2017, the BJP won three seats in Mau but could bag only one this time.
Overall, the SP-led alliance made a gain of five seats in Ghazipur, three in Mau and four in Ballia compared to the 2017 poll results
There are around 70,000 Rajbhars in Zahoorabad and 40,000 in Jakhania, both in Ghazipur.
On average, there are about 40,000 Rajbhars in the over 20 constituencies in Ghazipur, Mau, Ballia and Azamgarh districts, said SBSP state vice-president Shashi Pratap Singh.
SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar is their leader and they play decisive role in election at these constituencies. In this election, Rajbhars supported the SP, and the SP-SBSP made a clean sweep in Ghazipur, restricted the BJP to two seats in Ballia and one seat in Mau, said Singh.
He asserted that the Rajbhar factor dominated the 2017 and 2022 assembly elections in these districts and this dominance will continue.
Political analyst Patanjali Pandey, a research scholar at Banaras Hindu University’s department of political science, said Om Prakash Rajbhar emerged as a leader during the 2017 assembly polls when his party won four seats (as a BJP ally).
In this election, his stature has increased as the Rajbhar factor played a crucial role in the SP performing well in Ghazipur, Ballia, Mau and Jaunpur, Pandey said.
