Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Kalyan Singh factor faces the alliance force
Known for the love of arms amongst denizens, the constituency stands for the legacy of Kalyan Singh, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and present Governor of Rajasthan.
Fondly called ‘babuji’, Kalyan was in news recently for asking BJP workers, on camera, in Aligarh to strive to make Narendra Modi prime minister again.
However, large-scale unemployment has brought in social evils with a large number of youths moving towards crime. Etah witnessed hooch tragedies and some cases of rape with minors some time back. Kalyan Singh won from Etah in 2009 and his son Rajveer Singh aka ‘Raju Bhaiyya’, who rode the Modi wave, won comfortably in 2014. Kalyan remains the name to reckon with in this seat. He got a ‘surprise’ support in 2009 from his one-time political foe Mulayam Singh Yadav, who denied ticket to its sitting MP and extended support to Kalyan, who went to win the election for his Jan Kranti Party created after he moved away from BJP.
Kalyan Singh bagged 48% vote share and won by 1,28,000 votes with Samajwadi Party and its vote bank of Yadavs on his side coupled with his traditional Lodh vote bank and others. This was quite in contrast to the nineties when Kalyan was the poster boy of the saffron party while Mulayam was on other side of the battleline in a state drenched in 'Ram lehar'. They came together for a short span but after year 2009, Mulayam and Kalyan ‘separated’. Samajwadi regained its hold in Etah during assembly elections of 2012 and made its presence felt by winning six out of seven assembly seats then. Mulayam held it a mistake to align with Kalyan, who in course of time joined BJP again and went on become governor of Rajasthan.
UNIQUE CONSTITUENCY Land of Amir Khusro and Tulsidas, Etah is unique as it will go to polls in three phases. Jalesar is part of Etah district but is part of Agra reserved parliamentary constituency and went to polls in the second phase. Major part of Etah, including Kasganj district, is to go to polls in third phase while Aliganj, the assembly segment in Etah district, is part of Farukkhabad constituency and would go for polls in fourth phase. Etah comprises of both Etah and Kasganj district but nomination process for this constituency takes place in Kasganj. Result of 2014 LS polls
For the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Mulayam and Kalyan were again confronting each other. Both ‘Modi wave’ and ‘babuji’ factor helped Rajveer Singh win 2014 elections, scoring nearly 50 per cent votes with Samajwadi Party candidate Devendra Singh Yadav, the runner-up, having only 30 per cent vote share and Noor Mohammad Khan from BSP with 15 % vote on third position.
CASTE COMBINATION
Etah constituency also seems to be gripped in caste-based politics and calculations are made on basis of their vote share. The prominent castes are Yadavs and Lodhs beside good number of Shakya votes.
POLL ISSUES
Besides the caste factor, residents also talk about developmental issues. “Despite being named Etah junction and having railway station inaugurated by then president Dr Rajendra Prasad in the fifties, it is only a two bogie passenger train which connects Etah city with Tundla junction and is the only train connection that the city has despite a railway line assurance since decades,”' informs a journalist in Etah district. “We await rail line connectivity to Aligarh beside better condition of roads including GT road, which is in such condition that 55 km journey to Mainpuri takes too long. Industrialisation is missing and basic requirements, including power, is erratic,” complains a lawyer of Etah.
POLITICAL HISTORY
Foundation stone at railway station of Etah bears name of its first MP Rohan Lal Chaturvedi who won in 1952 on Congress ticket in the first election after independence but interestingly the candidate of Hindu Mahasabha, Bishan Chandar Seth won twice thereafter in 1957 and 1962. Chaturvedi re-emerged on political scene and won in 1967 and 1971 but best success rate stands in name of Mahadeepak Shakya, who won five times and was elected first as Bhartiya Lok Dal candidate and then as BJP candidate. Devendra Singh Yadav won Etah seat for Samajwadi Party in 1999 and 2004 but then came the hold of Kalyan, which continues till today.
LOK SABHA ELECTION 2019
Sitting MP Rajveer Singh is in fray but the road to success for him does not appear easy as he faces a tough challenge from SP-BSP-RLD alliance candidate Devendra Singh Yadav (SP) who had won twice from Etah parliamentary constituency.
