Lucknow: All the nine Assembly Segments of Lucknow Lok Sabha seat will go to polls on Sunday in the third phase in Uttar Pradesh. But it is no news in the traditional sense of the term as the state is slated to face seven-phase elections. But there is more to it and that makes it significant.
This parliament seat is represented by Rajnath Singh who has been appointed union minister for Home affairs which is number two position and comes next only to that of the Prime Minister. Therefore, it is a prestigious seat and better outcome in its assembly segments will add to the feather in his cap. He will be at the receiving end in case of adverse result.
He will have to suffer the blame also because he and his son , Pankaj, have campaigned aggressively in these assembly segments and tried to turn the tide against the ruling Samajwadi Party which had bagged seven of the nine assembly seats in the previous poll.
The job is not easy to accomplish because, of the remaining two, his party (BJP) had won only one– Lucknow east seat. Also because the ruling party has marshalled all its resources to repeat the 2014 performance. The party patriarch , Mulayam Singh Yadav, has campaigned only in two constituencies this year so far and one of them was an assembly segment in this Lok Sabha seat.
This seat holds special significance for the party for one more reason. Mulayam’s Bahu and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s sister-in-law is seeking election from one of the assembly segments for the first time and is pitted against a senior former Congress leader, Rita Bahuguna. Besides, Mulayam and Akhilesh, another close family member and party MP Dimple, too has campaigned in the constituency.
Rita is seeking election on a BJP ticket after deserting the parent organisation. So, Rajnath had to do all that is possible to retain this seat. Another assembly seat, Sarojaninagar, where another woman party candidate, Swati Singh has been fielded, is equally prestigious for she has been allotted party ticket in place of her husband who has been expelled from the party.
The government has done a lot to beautify the city and surrounding areas. In addition, it is also taking credit for metro rail project which has been completed and will be launched next month. These schemes have found general favour and made Rajnath’s task more difficult. To limit damages, he has been telling voters that the Centre has made significant contribution to these projects and that they have come up only because of this assistance.How much impact all this has made will be known only next month when the result will be out.
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