Lok Sabha Elections 2019: It’s Yadav vs Yadav in Firozabad seat

Shivpal Yadav, the estranged uncle of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, has set up an electoral battle with Ram Gopal’s son Akshay in Firozabad Lok Sabha constituency.

Firozabad, known for bangle and glass industry, is set to witness a pitched battle between Shivpal Yadav, the estranged uncle of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, and Akshay Yadav, son of Ram Gopal Yadav.

Labourers at work at a glass and bangle unit in Firozabad. The city is known for its bangles and glass indsutry. (HT Photo)

After a long drawn battle between Shivpal Yadav on one side and his nephew Akhilesh Yadav and cousin Ram Gopal Yadav on the other over the control of the Samajwadi Party, Shivpal had quit the party last year to form his own political outfit — the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSPL)

Shivpal has now set up an electoral battle with Ram Gopal’s son Akshay in Firozabad Lok Sabha constituency.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named Chandra Sen Jadaun as its candidate. Located on Delhi-Kanpur highway, Firozabad was earlier a part of Agra but later granted the status of a separate district. Also known as ‘Suhag Nagri’ because of bangle industry, Firozabad comes under the Taj Trapezium Zone, an area earmarked around Taj Mahal with restrictions on the use of coal and coke as fuel.

The glass industry in Firozabad improvised to use natural gas but because of lack of infrastructure and government support, the glass industry faces a tough competition from Chinese glass ware. The labour-oriented industry has left many workers which diseases mostly related to lungs.

Political history

Firozabad remained a reserved constituency for long and was won by Ramji Lal Suman four times for different parties. The Ram Temple wave of the ‘90s saw a hat-trick by BJP’s Prabhu Dayal Katheria. Firozabad became a high-profile seat in 2009 when Akhilesh Yadav contested from Firozabad and won it.

As he also won Kannauj, he vacated Firozabad for his wife Dimple Yadav who lost to Congress’s Raj Babbar.