Two “outsiders” – BJP’s Vinod Kumar Bind and Trinamool Congress’ Lalitesh Pati Tripathi (INDIA bloc candidate) – are pitted against each other while BSP, which has fielded a local backward leader after changing its candidate thrice, is struggling to remain in the race.
Bhadohi’s caste equations have been complicated by recent events. Its sitting MP, Ramesh Bind, recently quit BJP to join Samajwadi Party and is the alliance candidate from Mirzapur. Of the five assembly segments under the constituency, SP holds three with one Muslim and two backward MLAs, a Yadav and a Bind. The constituency is dominated by the Bind community with at least 4 lakh members, with around as many Brahmins. Muslims form about 12-13% of the total population.
In 2014, Bind won the seat by 44,000 votes with BSP-SP alliance candidate Rangnath Mishra finishing second. SP has not won Bhadohi so far. Before 2014, Bhadohi seat was known as Mirzapur-Bhadohi parliamentary constituency which remained in the limelight when SP fielded bandit queen-turned-politician Phoolan Devi in 1996 and she emerged victorious.
Caste Equations
Two of the dominant castes in this region are Binds (fishermen) and Brahmins. BJP has fielded a Bind for the second time, upsetting Brahmins who have been BJP voters. The INDIA bloc has fielded a Brahmin.
Bahujan Samaj Party, which had won the 2009 Lok Sabha poll from this seat with Gorakhnath Pandey, has fielded Harishankar Chauhan.
Basant, a shopkeeper in Asnao Bazar in Aurai, says: “Had BJP fielded a Brahmin, it could have swept the election. Now, BJP will get Bind votes but will lose some support among Brahmins. Yadavs and Muslims are likely to support the alliance candidate.”
TMC’s lone candidate in UP
Trinamool Congress has fielded Lalitesh Tripathi, who is the party’s lone candidate in UP. A former Congressman, -ex-MLA and great grandson of UP’s former CM Kamlapati Tripathi, he is getting full support from SP. The party cadre is campaigning for him, as the TMC symbol is not very familiar in UP.
Tripathi acknowledges that it was only in the last week of the election that people started recognising the symbol. “Party workers have been visiting villages with the TMC symbol, behind which we are using SP’s green and red colours to draw connections and telling people about ‘two stems and six leaves’. We cannot call the symbol a flower as people could confuse it with lotus,” he says.
“Keeping in view the resentment brewing among upper castes, BJP replaced Ramesh Chand with another Bind candidate, which helped the party to ensure damage control. The alliance candidate, Laliteshpati Tripathi, is working hard to revive his family’s political legacy, says Nooruddin, adding that he might get support from Muslims voters.
Carpet industry
The carpet industry gave Bhadohi international recognition but currently, it is going through a tough phase. In Khamariya, Shahjad Ali (28), a graduate, is earning the highest of Rs 8,000 a month by weaving carpets through the tufting process. “It is backbreaking work for barely any remuneration. Several youths have left this work,” he says.
Irshad Ali, proprietor of Orient Teppich House, says over the past 10 years, many subsidies have been withdrawn, which, combined with higher power costs, have put the industry in a crisis. “Weavers in Varanasi and Gorakhpur are getting incentives which are not being extended to carpet weavers,” he says.
Apart from being the carpet hub of UP, Bhadohi was also in the news for action against mafia like gangster-turned-politician Vijay Mishra.
Inflation & unemployment
Bhadohi residents say lack of employment is a major election issue. In Bhadohi city, Rohit Yadav, a bank employee, says his brother got a contractual job in UP Jal Nigam but hasn’t been paid for five months.
Govind Pal, an accountant, says his son has completed PhD but is still jobless. “People in Bhadohi would earlier not think of govt jobs because they would all find work in the carpet industry but things have changed now,” he said.
Development & Modi factor
Infrastructure development and improvement in law and order are two issues on which people are all praise for the govt. In Khamariya, a Maurya-dominated area, Akash Pandey (28) says, “Recently, a transformer broke down and was replaced within two days. Earlier, it took weeks to get the work done.” Om Prakash Jaiswal, owner of a cloth shop, says petty crimes have gone down and women are feeling safe. “For the youth, PM Modi is still a big draw,” he says.
According to political analysts, locals feel that political equations are surely stuck in the cobweb of castes and communities but after the PM’s public meeting on May 16, the mood of voters, who were upset with the BJP over a range of issues, has started changing.
They say that the return of prominent Brahmin face Rangnath Mishra, who had joined BSP, to BJP has given a cushion to BJP, which is also focusing on pockets of BSP’s traditional voters.
Bhadohi Battlefield
– Over 20 lakh voters will decide the fate of 10 candidates including BJP’s Vinod Kumar Bind, TMC’s Lalitesh Tripathi and BSP’s Harishankar
– Since independence, Bhadohi remained a part of Mirzapur-Bhadohi parliamentary seat
– After delimitation in 2008, Bhadohi parliamentary constituency was formed
– In 2022 state polls, SP won Pratappur, Handia and Bhadohi while BJP and ally Nishad Party won Aurai and Gyanpur