In backward Bundelkhand, the BSP has a lot at stake

Lucknow: As Lucknow, Rae Bareli and Kanpur corner all the attention for the fourth round of polling in Uttar Pradesh on 30 April, it is the five seats in the Bundelkhand region where a battle for supremacy will be played out between the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) on hand, and the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the other.The five seats spread across Bundelkhand in south-west UP are Jhansi, Jalaun, Banda, Hamirpur and Fatehpur. While SP represents Jalaun, Fatehpur, Banda, BSP has one (Hamirpur) and Congress one (Jhansi). However, among them these account for 26 assembly seats, of which the BSP has 10, SP 8 and Congress and BJP 4 each. The stakes are obviously the highest for the BSP.[caption id="attachment_1502241" align="alignleft" width="380"] BSP supporters. AFP[/caption]During its previous government the BSP had moved a resolution for splitting UP into five smaller units including a separate Bundelkhand state. The proposed state includes Lalitpur, Jhansi, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda, Chitrakoot in UP, and Datia, Tikamgarh, Sagar, Damoh, Panna, Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP also supports the separate state demand while the SP vehemently opposes it.Situated along the southwestern edge of UP, Bundelkhand region is one of the most backward in north-central India. The most distinguishing feature of Chambal and Yamuna rivers in this region are the ravines that are formed by fast running water cutting through the hard soil. These have provided cover to dacoit gangs for hiding and moving on foot or horseback without being detected.The Congress has had a sway over the region till the 80s but since then the local voters started exploring other options. OBCs and Dalits form the majority of the population, and it reflects in the results and candidate selection. During Mayawati's regime, Babu Singh Kushwaha from Banda was a minister and considered very close to her, but he has been in the jail and political wilderness after his involvement in National Rural Health Mission scam.“No politician from this region has ever emerged on the state or national level, because it is not easy to be a politician here,” says Dinesh Dixit, who belongs to Jhansi but is settled in Lucknow. “The preponderance of dacoit gangs and their diktat still influences life in this region. Names like Dadua, Balkharia, Bauri and other gang leaders are known to everyone. Extortion in the names of dacoits is common and splinter gangs have a free run.Jhansi is the most well-known city in the region. It is a major railway and cantonment town and BJP’s firebrand leader Uma Bharti is contesting from here. While she seeks votes in the name of Narendra Modi, a recently-leaked video showed her condemning Modi as a vinash purush. It pertained to a period when she was out of the BJP, but the Congress candidate Pradeep Aditya Jain is trying to extract maximum mileage from it. Anuradha Sharma of BSP and Chandrapal Yadav of SP are others in the fray.Uma Bharati, a former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, is an MLA from Charkhari in Mahoba, a seat she won in 2012 assembly election after moving to UP. She belongs to the Lodh community and hopes to sway OBC votes in her favour.Jhansi was a Congress stronghold till 1984 (except in 1977) but has been represented by BJP from 1989 to 1998. Congress regained the seat in 1999, lost it in 2004, and regained in 2009 when Pradeep Aditya Jain defeated the BSP nominee Ramesh Kumar Sharma.Fatehpur had been the seat of former Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh in 1989 and 1991, having earlier been represented by Hari Krishna Shastri (Congress) in 1980 and 1984. The BJP won from here in 1998 and 1999, the BSP won it in 1996 and 2004, and the Samajwadi Party’s Rakesh Sachan won it in 2009. Sachan now faces BJP’s Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Afzal Siddiqi (BSP) and Usha Maurya (Congress).SP’s Bal Kumar Patel is the sitting MP from Banda and seeks to retain the seat. He is the brother of the late dreaded dacoit Dadua. Against him in fray are Vivek Kumar Singh (Congress), RK Singh Patel (BSP) and Bhairon Prasad Mishra (BJP). Banda has been a Congress bastion up to 1962 and since then, it has been represented by CPI (1967 and 1989), Congress (1980 and 1984), BJP (1991 and 1998), BSP (1996 and 1999), and SP in 2004 and 2009. Apparently, personal loyalty and other factors matter more than party or political loyalty.Among other seats is Jalaun, where SP’s Ghanshyam Anuragi seeks to retain his seat, challenged by BSP’s Brijlal Khabri, BJP’s Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma and Vijay Chaudhary of the Congress. In 2006, Jalaun was named one of the country's 250 most backward districts in 2006, and has been receiving funds under the special Bundelkhand package.Hamirpur was wrested out of Congress control by the erstwhile Janata Dal in 1989, and in 1991, 1996 and 1998, the BJP won it. In 1999, BSP’s Ashok Kumar Singh Chandel won but lost in 2004. In 2009, however BSP regained it with Vijay Bahadur Singh. In an interesting twist, the BSP expelled Vijay Bahadur Singh for his comments praising Modi, and he later joined the Samajwadi Party. This time, BSP has fielded Rakesh Goswami and others are Bishambhar Prasad Nishad (SP), Pritam Singh Lodhi (Congress) and Kunwar Pushpendra Singh Chandel (BJP).The landscape is uniformly dreary and dusty. At this time of the year, it is windy and hot, and with no power supply worth mentioning. Consistent neglect, persistent drought and poor rainfall and lack of political interest has kept the region devoid of agricultural, industrial or economic activity and is marked largely for mining activities – legal or illegal – by players patronised by all political parties.“Intense heat, rocky terrain and shortage of water make the region extremely inhospitable. It is a punishment to work there,” says a government officer having served for some years in two districts in Bundelkhand. “The area also suffers from a severe fuelwood crisis and tree plantation campaigns end in failure since the saplings are taken away by poor villagers for burning,” he adds. Because of high-intensity mining and stone crushing activity, the environment is dust-laden and highly polluted.But still, voting in the seats is most likely to take place along caste lines, despite the presence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates in many places.