In the districts of Awadh and Central Uttar Pradesh including Sitapur, Lucknow, Chitrakoot, five things are being heard in this election – ration, ‘bull’, ‘safety’, ‘respect’ and ‘Muslim’ voters.
From Sitapur to Hardoi, Lucknow, Rae Bareli and Amethi, Fatehpur, Barabanki and Pratapgarh to Chitrakoot, News18 traveled to a dozen districts, which have around 70 seats, to talk to voters in phases 4 and 5 in the next week. And politicians. The five most commonly cited words in these conversations seem to determine how votes will be cast.
Read also: UP Election 2022 Voting Live Updates
Ration (got high,
“Bole on ration” – reads a chit passed by BJP candidate Amar Pal Maurya to another speaker on stage at a public meeting in Unchahar seat where women are in strong presence. Maurya told the crowd, “Modi ji and Yogi ji did not let anyone go hungry during the pandemic.” Visit homes in nearby villages and see half-filled ration sacks still lying with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Free ration distributed by both the central and state governments in Uttar Pradesh seems to be the biggest factor in favor of the BJP in the state. Some even say that it was a “double dose”, which was more effective than the Kovid vaccine. Talking to women from all the villages, News18 found that free rations have worked wonders on the ground and quelled the anger to some extent on issues like unemployment and inflation.
“There are silent women voters who will largely vote for the BJP on the issue of free ration. I take this advantage in every public meeting, if mine is,” Nitin Agarwal, the BJP’s Hardoi city candidate, told News18.
bull (harder than)
Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has been raising the issue of massive destruction of stray cattle farms, telling voters that they might have got free ration but their fields were destroyed by stray cattle. Several villagers told News18 how they were forced to stay overnight to guard their fields. A group of villagers in Amethi’s Chhota Ismailpur village told News18, “Saand aur aand (bull and field fence) is a buzzword in villages because protecting our crop from bulls is a big headache and issue.”
BJP leaders admit that this is an issue against them as the Yogi government has stopped slaughter of cattle, but has promised a solution after March 10. “We will open a record number of ‘gaushalas’ in the state as per the recently passed budget. The state will be free from the problem of stray animals after March 10,” Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya told News18. Several other BJP candidates are promising voters that they will dedicate their entire MLA LADS money to build more ‘gaushalas’.
Safety and Honor (is big)
The two words have also been heard a lot from voters ‘Suraksha’ and ‘Samman’ (protection and respect), with women voters, in particular, referring to better law and order situation and “respect”, making them various beneficiaries. In terms of. Schemes like house, cylinder and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi by BJP government. In a village near Barabanki, News18 found a dozen new houses built with money under the PM Awas Yojana, to which the occupants had moved recently.
The PM Awas Yojana seems to have made an impact even in the Bundelkhand districts of Chitrakoot and Banda, which are voting in phase 4. “We had neither dreamed of getting water nor had we dreamed of leaving our ‘kucha’ house. The government has given it to both of us,” Lalita Devi and her daughter-in-law Muskan told News18 in a village in Chitrakoot, pointing to the water connections they had to get at their new home under the Har Ghar Jal Yojana.
However, for some, the issue of ‘respect’ is caste-linked and many Yadavs and even some non-Yadav OBC voters complain of ‘Thakur-ism’ in the Yogi government and say that the previous The castes were not treated well in the past. five years. “Yadav men have been treated and treated like a mafia by this government. CM is saying that our heat will answer. We want our respect back,” a group of young Yadav boys, who ride motorcycles in Sultanpur, told News18.
Muslim Voters (have one)
Local Muslims are clear at the famous Tunde Kababi shop and Shree Kachori Corner in Lucknow’s Chowk area – this time Muslim voters are united to vote for the Samajwadi Party. “There is no confusion now. The BSP is not in a position to beat the BJP. The Muslim voter knows that it is the cycle that can defeat the BJP,” Riyazul Haque told News18 while having lunch at Tunde Kababi. Another local SJ Raza says they want change. “If the same person remains in power, he becomes arrogant. UP has always voted for change and this time it will be Akhilesh.
Young Muslims say they realize the BJP wins seats like Lucknow (West), under which the square falls, because the Muslim vote is divided. He said, ‘This time also SP, BSP and Congress have given Muslim candidates for this seat. Now everyone is clear to vote for SP,” Mohammad Imran, a student, told News18 while having a bhature at Shree Kachori Corner.
Local Muslims also protest that the law and order has been improved by the Yogi government. Tabassum Raza says, “It was Akhilesh who brought the Dial 100 helpline and mobile police vehicles.
The BJP won nearly 85% of all seats in the Central UP region in the 2017 assembly elections. But the consolidation of Muslims behind the SP, and if the Bahujan Samaj Party turns out to be a non-factor, as many expect, could result in losses for the BJP in some seats. Therefore, it is heavily dependent on law and order along with its free rations to retain its vote-share and hope for a women’s consolidation. Next week, more can be heard on “Ration Mil Hai”.
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