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Lok Sabha Elections 2019: On campaign trail, Kushinagar candidates confident of victory

Known as Raja Saheb among local people, senior Congress leader and candidate from Kushinagar Lok Sabha seat RPN Singh, seeks the support of the people in Kaptanganj area on the development works carried out by him as an MP from 2009 to 2014.

Published on: May 18, 2019, 09:36:17 IST
Hindustan Times, Gorakhpur | By , GORAKHPUR
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Known as Raja Saheb among local people, senior Congress leader and candidate from Kushinagar Lok Sabha seat RPN Singh, seeks the support of the people in Kaptanganj area on the development works carried out by him as an MP from 2009 to 2014.

Former union minister RPN Singh is among the key contestants in Kushinagar which goes to polls in the seventh and final phase on Sunday (HT File)
Former union minister RPN Singh is among the key contestants in Kushinagar which goes to polls in the seventh and final phase on Sunday (HT File)

He asks people not to get lured by the false claims of opposition leaders and informs them about the Congress’s promises which including NYAY Scheme, under which the Congress has promised Rs 72,000 to 5 crore families every year, and creation of 24 lakh government jobs.

“The pace of development which came to a halt under the BJP rule will get a push if you elect me again. I will ensure development projects in Kushinagar. This time, the BJP will be wiped out,” he says.

As he returns home after hectic campaigning, he asks his social media campaigner if the rallies was streamed live on his Facebook page and discusses his routine plan to interact with people live on the social media platforms.

A Sainthwar Kshatriya by caste, Singh was first elected from Kushinagar in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. He has served as Padrauna MLA for three consecutive terms.

Riding on Modi wave in 2014, BJP’s Rajesh Pandey defeated Singh by a margin of 86,000 votes.

This time, Singh is locked in a fierce contest with BJP’s Vijay Dubey, a close associate of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and a key leader of the Hindu Yuva Vahini.

Dubey had earlier served as MLA of Khadda, one of the seven assembly seats of Kushinagar region.

Dubey, whose campaign was powered by Yogi’s rally and road show by BJP president Amit Shah, is confident of his victory.

“The SP-BSP alliance stands nowhere in front of Modi ji. Riding on the popularity of Modi ji and Yogi ji, we are going to win the election. The opposition will lose its deposit,” he says.

Nathuni Kushwaha, the SP-BSP alliance candidate, is also busy campaigning. “We are fighting elections on local issues like closure of sugar mills, encephalitis deaths, unemployment and farmers’ woes. I am sure people will support us,” he says.

In the past, the BJP has won from Kushinagar in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections. In 2004, Baleshwar Yadav of the National Loktantrik Party surprised political observers by winning the seat.