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UP polls: Parties invoke medieval warriors in Bahraich electoral battle
As the parties seek to make an impression on voters, references to medieval warriors Maharaja Suheldev and Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud have been made during the UP election campaign in Bahraich
The shadow of medieval warriors Maharaja Suheldev and Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud looms large over the campaign for the UP polls in the seven constituencies in Bahraich district that is going to polls in the fifth phase on Sunday (February 27) in Uttar Pradesh.
Seeking to make an impression on the voters, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leaders are invoking the medieval warriors in public meetings for the UP polls.
For instance, the BJP is working to appropriate the legacy of Suheldev, who had defeated and killed the Ghaznavid general, Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud, in a battle at Bahraich in 1034 AD. Suheldev is venerated by the local people, particularly the backward communities and the Dalits.
Addressing a public meeting in the Payagpur area of Bahraich district on Tuesday (February 22), Prime Minister Narendra Modi said people across the country are aware of the valour of Maharaja Suheldev who fought against the invaders.
“I laid the foundation of the Suheldev memorial in February last year. Soon, a huge statue will be installed in the memorial area,” he said.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, too, highlighted various projects launched in the district in the name of Maharaja Suheldev, including the government medical college and the beautification of Chittaura lake. He alleged that the SP and the BSP governments had neglected Suheldev’s legacy.
Some locals feel that it was the BJP who did justice to Maharaja Suheldev.
“Hardly anyone in Uttar Pradesh knew about Maharaja Suheldev before the BJP came to power in the state in 2017,” said Suresh Rajbhar of Nanpara.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had launched his party’s election campaign in the district with visit to the dargah sharif at Bahraich to pay obeisance to Ghazi Salar Masud. The AIMIM is fighting for a share in power for the Muslim community whereas the SP and BSP are using Muslims as mere a vote bank, he said.
The dargah sharif is revered by both Muslims and Hindus, said a cleric Aftab Ahmed Khan.
“During the annual festival (urs), the leaders of the SP, BSP and Congress visited the dargah to seek blessings for their victory in the assembly election,” he said.
Former minister and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar, who is contesting the assembly election in alliance with the SP, alleged the BJP is using Maharaja Suheldev and Ghazi Salar Masud to polarise the voters. Rajbhar is a former ally of the BJP.
Rather than religion, people will vote on issues like development, unemployment, price rise and stray cattle menace, he said.
In the 2017 assembly election, the BJP bagged six seats in Bahraich district — Bahraich Sadar, Balha, Nanpara, Mahasi, Payagpur and Kaiserganj —while the SP managed to capture the Matera assembly seat. In the 2012 assembly election, the BJP, the SP and the Congress had bagged two seats each while the BSP captured one seat. In the 2007 assembly election, the BSP had bagged four seats, the SP two and the BJP won one seat.
The BJP has fielded sitting MLAs Sureshwar Singh from Mahasi, Anupama Jaiswal from Bahraich Sadar, Saroj Sonkar from Balha and Subhash Tripathi from Payagpur.
The party has also nominated Gaurav Verma, son of cabinet minister Mukut Bihari Verma, from his father’s seat – Kaiserganj. Apna Dal (Sonelal), an ally of the BJP, has fielded Ramniwas Verma from Nanpara seat after defection of the sitting BJP MLA Madhuri Verma to the SP.
Arun Veer Singh, who was runner-up in the 2017 assembly election, has been fielded from the Matera seat.
The SP has fielded former minister Yasir Shah from Bahraich Sadar and his wife Maria Ali Shah from Matera. The prestige of the Shah family is at stake as Waqar Ahmed Shah, father of Yasar Shah, had won the Bahraich Sadar seat for five consecutive terms. Yasir had won the Matera seat twice. The SBSP, an ally of the SP, has fielded Lalita Harendra Paswan from Balha, Anand Kumar from Kaiserganj and Mukesh Srivastava from Payagpur. BSP rebel KK Ojha has been fielded from Mahasi and BJP rebel Madhuri Verma from Nanpara by the SP.
Looking to regain lost ground, the BSP, out of power since 2012, has fielded four Muslim candidates — Hakikat Ali from Nanpara, Aqibullah Khan from Matera, Nasim Khan ‘Naeem’ from Bahraich Sadar and Baqaulllah from Kaiserganj seat.
Geeta Mishra from Payagpur, Dinesh Kumar Shukla from Mahasi and Ramchandra from Balha are also in the fray on the BSP ticket.
Asaduddin Owaisi has conducted an extensive campaign in Bahraich to make inroads into the Muslim and Dalit votes of the SP and BSP. He has fielded Muslim candidates in Bahraich Sadar, Payagpur, Kaiserganj and Nanpara. The Congress has fielded two Muslims, four upper castes and a schedule caste candidate for the seven assembly seats in the district.
