It was business as usual at the
Samajwadi Party
office in
Kannauj
until the party president
Akhilesh Yadav
made a last-minute entry into the poll fray, infusing a new vigour into the cadre.
Before Akhilesh decided to throw his hat in the ring, his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav was the party’s official candidate.
“He (Tej Pratap) would have won too, but ‘Bhaiyyaji’ (as Akhilesh is known here) is the face of Kannauj,” says Vijay Singh Yadav, an old-timer in the party, who lives in Kajitola locality of the city.
While the enthusiastic SP workers and supporters can sense the sweet smell of success in Kannauj, the hub of ‘
attar
’ (perfume industry), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is determined to hold the fort which it had wrested from the SP in 2019 when Subrat Pathak handed over a shock defeat to Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav. Before 2019, BJP’s Chandra Bhushan Yadav won the seat in 1996.
AN INDO-PAK MATCH?
Sitting MP Subrat Pathak, who has contested the seat thrice since 2009, says that Akhilesh’s entry has made the Kannauj poll as exciting as “a World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan”. The excitement is palpable on the ground.
The decade-old office of the Samajwadi Party in Kannauj Sadar is already abuzz with activity. Party workers and local functionaries cut the ribbon to “re-inaugurate” the office for the poll campaign of three-time Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav.
“This time we are winning. The excitement here speaks for itself,” says Prabal Pratap Singh, party in-charge for Kannauj assembly constituency.
Party workers are directing publicity vans to all corners of the constituency and many of them are starting out on their motorcycles with bundles of campaign material for distribution among voters. Others are busy cross-checking the details of
voters
at every booth.
“Last time (2019 Lok Sabha elections), names of many SP voters were missing from the list. Ensuring that their names are there in the voter lists is the most important task for us,” says Singh. Archana Pandey, a young party worker, says: “I am a big fan of Akhilesh Yadav. No one in my family is associated with the SP but I joined the party only for him.”
In every lane of Kannauj, at least one person would claim to be close to the Yadav family or know someone in the family personally.
Shailendra Saxena, who runs an eatery in Saraimeera area near the bus stand, says: “I do not get any favour from them, but I can’t think about voting for anyone else, not even in my worst dreams. My family’s association with them goes back to the days of ‘netaji’ (Mulayam Singh Yadav).”
HOWTHE SAFFRON PARTY FARES
Though Akhilesh enjoys good support in Kannauj and people credit him for the development works that he has carried out in the constituency like a medical college, a 100-bed district hospital, a bridge over river Kali, and roads in every colony, it is not that BJP is out of reckoning.
“It may be a very small margin with which one may win and the other lose,” says Dhirendra Mishra, an ‘attar’ trader. In 2014, Dimple defeated Subrat Pathak by a margin of 19,907 votes, while in 2019, Pathak edged past Dimple by 12,353 votes.
Though the two political parties claim that they would win by a margin of 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh votes, people see it as a neck and neck fight. “There are two ways of looking at the contest – as ‘Pathak vs Yadav’ or ‘Modi vs Yadav’. Also, Akhilesh’s hesitance over jumping into poll fray from Kannauj may also give his image a beating,” says Mishra.
“Kannauj Lok Sabha seat has assembly segments from three districts – Kannauj, Auraiya and Kanpur Dehat. So, how it all plays out will decide a lot,” says Shivnath Kushwaha, a voter from an OBC community in Kajitola.
CASTE CALCULUS
Kannauj elections would also be interesting given the interplay of a mix of factors, the profile of candidates being one of them.
The constituency has over 19 lakh voters, with Muslims accounting for around 3 lakh and Brahmins and Yadavs being slightly more than 2.5 lakh each.
Dalits, who constitute the biggest chunk with a population of over 4 lakh, may play a decisive role. Rajputs, Vaishyas, Lodhs, and Kurmis are also present in significant numbers. “Jatavs taken out, the rest of the Dalits have always been with the BJP,” claims Vivek Pathak, a BJP functionary at the party office in Chaudhary Sarai area of Kannauj.
Though Dalits form a major chunk of population, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has never won the seat because Dalits here do not vote on caste lines.
“We vote for those who get our works done,” says Umakant, a Jatav. Dalits say that ‘Behenji’ (BSP president Mayawati) does not contest herself and the candidates she fields are not strong enough to ensure the party’s victory. Her nephew, Akash Anand, also does not find support with voters.
“Behenji kabhi aayein, hum logon se kuchh poochein (Behenji should come and take stock of our condition). She had once
come to Kannauj when she was the CM. She did not come to pay obeisance at the statue of Babasaheb (BR Ambedkar) here,” says Ramji, a Dalit voter. BSP has fielded Imran Bin Jafar, who is likely to split Muslim votes in the constituency.
UNEMPLOYMENT A MAJOR ISSUE
Voters claim that Kannauj has a dearth of job opportunities. Though the district has more than 100 cold storages and over 400 small ‘attar’ manufacturing units, besides 23 private distilleries, there are many who find it tough to make their ends meet.
In his 20s, Mohd Faizal, says, “Lack of employment is the biggest issue in Kannauj. I do odd jobs to make ends meet. At times, I find work as a painter, otherwise, I work at a puncture shop.”
Most Muslims and Dalits work as daily wagers, who may not find work for months together. “Jobs are needed as much as good govt colleges. One women’s college came up under the Akhilesh Yadav govt. We need one for boys as well,” says Ravishankar Katiyar, a resident. Asha Devi Dohre has three children. “My children have done training in ITI but they have no jobs. I joined SP hoping I would get to voice my woes to the higher ups.”
POLITICAL PAST
Samajwadi Party has been winning Kannauj since 1998. In 1999, Mulayam Singh Yadav won the seat. Akhilesh Yadav has won it thrice, in the byelection of 2000 and, in the Lok Sabha election in 2004 and 2009. Dimple Yadav won the seat unopposed in 2012 (after it was vacated by Akhilesh) and 2014. In 2019, BJP’s Subrat Pathak emerged victorious.
“Before Samajwadi Party and Mulayam Singh Yadav, it was Chhote Singh Yadav who nurtured the seat and made it a Yadav stronghold,” says Shailendra Saxena, adding that a lot of development was carried out by Sheila Dixit when she won the seat on a Congress ticket in 1984.
The SP loyalists feel that the party lost in 2019 because of the feud in the Yadav family. “Voters did not like the dispute in the family. Shivpal ji was upset. It affected party people here,” remarks Ramasre Yadav, an SP supporter.
THE UNIQUE FRAGRANCE OF KANNAUJ
Being the hub of the perfume industry, Kannauj is globally renowned for its ‘attar’. Manufacturers feel that the ecosystem of the industry is such that it has become selfsustaining over the years and the political changes do not affect it much.
“Govt can certainly work to promote the industry but people who are working in this sector are all fourth-generation workers, be it the owners or the employees, and they are least affected by political changes,” says Nishish Tiwari, an ‘attar’ businessman.
One of the most ambitious projects of Kannauj is ‘attar park’ is still unfinished though the land for the project was allotted before 2019.
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