CHIEF MINISTER’S finance and taxation advisor Surendra Mohan Agarwal is caught in two minds. His dilemma is comprehensible yet interesting.
The burly Samajwadi Party politician was eyeing the Generalganj assembly seat till the notification for the civic elections was issued. Now, the aspiring MLA wants to become the city’s mayor.
His sudden change of mind has left other mayoral aspirants of the Samajwadi Party high and dry. But not willing to give up easily, Agarwal’s contenders have begun sending feelers to the party high command. They have urged senior leaders to assess ground realities before a taking a decision on the mayoral candidate.
They claim that the all-powerful Agarwal has contested all elections —Lok Sabha, assembly and mayoral — and ended up embracing defeats.
The Agarwal camp, however, fancies its chances and points to the newly acquired ‘stardom’ of their leader in local politics.
Other than holding the rank of a cabinet minister, Agarwal has been given a free hand to nurture his Assembly segment. Rs 25 crore for developmental works, full control over the local administration and the much needed say within the government, make him the favourite.
His think tank argued that the mayoral seat was within the reach of Agarwal as he has rewrites his career story successfully.
{{/usCountry}}His think tank argued that the mayoral seat was within the reach of Agarwal as he has rewrites his career story successfully.
{{/usCountry}}So far the Agarwal camp was under impression that the elections for civic bodies would not be possible for legal wrangles.
However, the notification came as a bolt from the blue and disturbed his calculations. It also upset his determination to wrest Generalgunj from the BJP, which has been holding on to the seat for the last four elections.
Agarwal has indicated that he might take another shot at the mayoral post once it city leadership endorsed it.
But Agarwal seems to be running into several SP leaders for fancying to contest the mayoral polls.
Vaishya leader Shailendra Gupta believes that new faces should get a chance and Som Chandra Gupta wants to fight the polls. Moreover, Mehtab Alam, who recently relinquished the post of city president for an Agarwal confidant, is the dark hors in the race.
Alam say he’s playing the Muslim card and also pulling the right chords within the party.
The final picture emerging, despite the mad scramble for the seat, is that Agarwal remains a clear favourite.