Uttar Pradesh assembly polls: BJP rides ‘Modi-Yogi’ growth model, rivals see boost from farm protests

GHAZIABAD: BJP is hoping for a repeat of 2017 wave when it swept all seats in the district with voting in the first phase just two days away but opposition candidates in Loni, Modinagar and Muradnagar are confident of turning the tables, citing the “lack of a wave” like in the last election and the impact of the farmers’ agitation in western UP.


The three Ghaziabad seats are among the closest to one of the seats of the agitation – UP Gate on the Ghazipur border. BJP MLAs from the three seats are banking on the “Modi-Yogi development model”, and the “crackdown on mafia and goondaraj”, which the party has been using to push its main rival Akhilesh Yadav into a corner by harping on the law and order track record of Samajwadi regimes.

The SP-RLD alliance has reposed their faith in old-timers such as Madan Bhaiya in Loni, Sudesh Sharma in Modinagar and

Surendra Kumar Munni

in Muradnagar. All have been MLAs multiple times. Congress and the BSP also have given tickets to party loyalists.

Loni

BJP MLA Nand Kishore Gurjar, who is eyeing a second term in Loni, is a controversial figure. During this campaign, a slogan mentioning Ali and Banjrangbali got him a notice from the Election Commission. But this did not deter Gurjar, who kept raising the slogan at various platforms, including at an Amit Shah rally in his support last week. He clarifies that by “Ali” he means Mohammad Ali Jinnah, “who was responsible for the partition of India”.

Known for forcibly closing down meat shops for “hurting religious sentiments”, the MLA had once staged a protest against the Yogi government in the assembly in 2019, alleging harassment by Ghaziabad police over his steps against meat shops. Last year, Gurjar also drew the ire of farmers when he, along with his supporters, gathered near UP Gate, purportedly to get it vacated.

Against Gurjar, the SP-RLD has fielded four-time MLA Madan Bhaiya, a strongman with a “Robin Hood” image. Bhaiya says he will fight the poll on the issues of brotherhood (“bhaichara”) and development.

According to an estimate, of the 4.5 lakh voters in Loni, which is adjacent to Delhi, at least 1.5 lakh are Muslims. Jats and Gurjars have a strong presence in the area. The constituency, which came into existence in 2008 and saw the first assembly elections in 2012, elected a Muslim MLA, Zakir Ali, from BSP in the first election. Gurjar wrested the seat from him in the next.

BSP and the Congress have put their bets on Muslim candidates. Akil is contesting from BSP and Mohd Yamin Malik from Congress. BJP rebel and Gurjar’s detractor, Ranjeeta Dhama, chairman of Loni Nagar Palika Parishad, is contesting as an Independent and is also seen as a strong contender. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have also fielded candidates.

There are nearly 80,000 Gurjars in Loni, and BJP has been trying to contain a row that broke out over a plaque of a statue of king Mihir Bhoj, unveiled in Dadri last year. Members of the Gurjar community allege the word Gurjar was removed from the plaque.

Muradnagar

Famous for its cotton textile and ordinance factories, BJP MLA Ajit Pal Tyagi, a former Zila panchayat president, currently represents the Muradnagar assembly. In the past, this seat was a stronghold of his father Rajpal Tyagi, an MLA from the seat six times. Rajpal served as MLA between 1996 and 2012 from the SP (1996-2002), the Congress (2002-2007) and as an independent candidate (2007-2012). Wahab Chaudhary from the BSP defeated him in the 2012 poll. Riding high on the BJP’s success at the Centre, Ajit wrested the seat from

Sudhan Kumar

(BSP) by a margin of 90,000 votes in the 2017 assembly elections.

In the 2022 polls, Ajit will fight against

Vijendra Yadav

from the Congress, Ayyuv Khan from the BSP, and Surendra Kumar Munni, the SP-RLD alliance candidate. The AAP, contesting the UP polls for the first time, has fielded Mahesh Tyagi.

While Ajit Pal Tyagi has been pitching this election as one about “nationalism” and those against it, his opponents have come out with manifestos focusing on development work. Munni, a three-time MLA, says his first goal will be to get Muradnagar a tehsil status. At present, it is a part of the Modinagar tehsil. Yadav says he will focus on employment for local youths in factories in the area, besides solving the problem of underground water contamination in villages. The issues of new hospitals, educational institutions, regularisation of irregular colonies, road repair, Ganga water supply, and construction of modern sports facilities for youths are other poll planks of the opposition.

Modinagar

Modinagar on the Delhi-Meerut highway is nearly equidistant from Meerut and Ghaziabad and has a predominantly rural population. This assembly segment comes under the Baghpat Lok Sabha seat.

BJP occupied the seat for a long time. However, in 2007, Rajpal Singh from the BSP defeated Narendra Singh Sisodia, the uninterrupted three-time BJP MLA from Modinagar. Singh left the BSP a year ago and joined the RLD.

In 2012, the seat went to Sudesh Sharma of RLD, but in 2017, Dr Manju Siwach wrested it back for BJP. Sharma has once again got a ticket. Siwach is confident that people will vote for Modi-Yogi's initiatives in UP. Siwach says she has immense respect for Chaudhary Charan Singh, who was influential in Modinagar and worked for farmers, but current RLD leaders have failed to take forward his legacy. As far as SP is concerned, she adds, it is run on dynastic lines.

According to the former Modinagar MLA and SP-RLD candidate Sharma, people reposed faith in him in the past and are aware of his work for their welfare. He says the 2022 election is about development versus a “jumlebaaz” party and promises to start a 200-bed government hospital equipped with modern facilities and renovate the Mahamaya temple in the Sikri village. Congress has fielded the national coordinator of its OBC (other backward classes) wing, Neeraj Kumari. Kumari says that development and women empowerment are her priorities.

The Jat and Gurjar castes are dominant in the region, but OBCs and scheduled castes could play a decisive role in determining the election results.