Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Polls: If Congress battle cry is historical link, BJP bets on local factor in Raebareli
voters carry the weight of keeping alive the Gandhi family's last political trace against BJP's relentless efforts to hoist its flag there.
In his address here on Sunday, Union minister Amit Shah said if the essence of «400 paar» could be met with one seat, it was Raebareli. The remark underscores the perceptional value this seat carries in BJP's mission to trounce Congress, with Amethi already being vacated for a family 'representative' instead of a member.
If Congress is invoking its over 100-year-old ties with the place, right from the time Jawaharlal Nehru provided strength to the non-cooperation movement led by farmers against the British in 1920-21 to Rahul Gandhi calling the place Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi's karmabhoomi and the seminal work done by them for the area, BJP wants to root the fight in a local versus outsider debate, projecting Dinesh Pratap Singh as the one who will be there to address day-to-day woes.
Samajwadi Party is also providing Congress with organisational strength, especially in rural areas where Congress is 'weaker'. Besides, four out of five SP MLAs in Raebareli also bring in their own voter base for Congress, even though SP MLA from Unchahar, Manoj Pandey, is supporting BJP and could pull a section of Brahmin votes away from Congress. If Congress voters are predicting a clean sweep, BJP supporters say there is a fight and it won't be one-sided. Singh had halved Sonia's winning margin in 2019 to about 1.7 lakh.
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