Malhani assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh, which has been a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party, is witnessing a very tough fight with Dhananjay Singh strongman on Janata Dal (United) ticket against Lucky Yadav of SP. The fight assumes significance because of Dhananjay, whose name has been used by SP president Akhilesh Yadav to target UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his claims of reining in the mafia.
Even though the caste math here is on the SP side, as the seat has a large number of Yadav and Muslim voters, Mulayam Singh Yadav is coming to address a rally for the party’s candidate. The Samajwadi Party chief has addressed rallies in only two seats: one will be his son’s constituency Karhal and the other Malhani. This time the preparations were in full swing from the cars and motorcycles of the people asking to vote for the SP.
The Malhani seat was won by Lucky Yadav in the 2020 by-election held due to the death of his father. He won by a margin of 4,632 votes, with Singh coming second.
Lucky Yadav is the son of late Parasnath Yadav, a seven-time MLA, two-time MP and three-time minister, who was considered close to Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Dhananjay Singh was also out of the election campaign and believes that even if the entire Yadav family comes to campaign for Lucky Yadav, he will still win. Lucky has also made this claim. Half the streets were lined with BJP flags as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing a public meeting in support of assembly candidates in Jaunpur district, just a few kilometers away, in which KP Singh is also contesting from Malhani.
‘The revolutionaries, now the mafia’
When CM Yogi Adityanath targeted SP for giving tickets to “criminals and mafia”, Akhilesh had tweeted a picture of Dhananjay Singh playing cricket. This was even when he was shown absconding in the police files.
On this, Singh said that Akhilesh has done politics for five years on Twitter.
“Please go back a little in history and it was we who caused the downfall of the BSP and BJP government, and Mulayam Singh Yadav became the chief minister. He and his entire family – Shivpal and Akhilesh – used to visit us in jail. Then we are the enemies of revolution, and now we are showing mafia (we were revolutionaries then and we are mafia now)? People should think while talking. Ask Akhilesh anything, he will say one thing in the morning and the other in the evening.
‘No moral discourse please, we are all alike’
Balwan, who is contesting from Malhani, said the SP has fielded the entire Ansari clan and even those in jail. “There was a time when three MLAs were murdered and the then BJP national president sat on dharna, even then no action was taken. The party whose chiefs say ‘children do mistakes’ (referring to Mulayam) about rape, can such a party talk about morality and morality,” Singh said.
Lucky Yadav is also seen aggressively campaigning that CM Yogi Adityanath has spared Dhananjay as he belongs to the chief minister’s Kshatriya caste. She also instigated sentiments against the BJP in the Brahmin community by raising the case of Khushi Dubey, who is in jail after her husband gangster Amar Dubey was shot dead by the police.
“CM works for one caste. I want to ask what was the fault of Khushi Dubey that he is in jail? He got married two days ago. Here a man with a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head is playing cricket. When will the bulldozer be called? He was spared as he belonged to a particular caste. I am getting Brahmin votes.
Will vote for Dhananjay mean vote for BJP?
“Voters have become wise. The fight is close between Singh and Yadav. BJP candidates are not even campaigning that much. We also know that voting for Dhananjay may ultimately mean voting for BJP,” said Bhagat Ram, a local resident while sipping tea at a tea stall and discussing politics with five others.
There are others who believe that in this fight between two cats, the monkey can snatch the morsel. When Ramesh, a tailor, was asked who was winning the seat, he said, “Look, do you know if the third won the battle of two people.” His statement was strongly opposed by many others sitting around the shop.
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