Assembly elections 2022 kick off in 10 days across five states, with Uttar Pradesh being the first to vote on February 10. Election war-rooms are buzzing with tweets, lives, posts and pings as campaigning goes digital following Election Commission’s ban on physical rallies amid third wave of Covid-19.
Pollsters have predicted victories, some closely fought, for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, while the Congress is projected to have an upper hand in Punjab, where the possibility of a hung Assembly has not been ruled out.
In the absence of usual pre-poll markers like crowds at rallies, politician-to-people interactions and response to padyatras, election buzz this time is scattered in chaupals, markets and bylanes. Here are 10 ground reports from News18.com reporters that best capture the poll pulse:
Ghost of Hathras
One year after the rape and murder of a Dalit girl, who was cremated in the dead of the night, women’s safety is at the centre of all campaigns in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras. The main contest is between BJP’s surprise pick Anjula Mahaur, a Dalit herself, and BSP candidate Sanjiv Kumar Kaka.
Anjula’s candidature was initially opposed by local BJP leaders, who labelled her an “outsider” as she replaces sitting MLA Hari Shankar Mahaur. But Anjula insists all is well now and she has the local leaders’ backing.
The family of the rape victim, meanwhile, awaits the job and housing promised to them in the aftermath of the incident that saw Opposition leaders troop to Hathras against the Yogi Adityanath government. The family is being protected by 10 CRPF men amid allegations from upper caste sections that the accused have been falsely implicated in the case. READ FULL STORY
Whiff of Karhal Cakewalk for Akhilesh
The sleepy town of Karhal in the “VIP” Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh is set to become the “most VIP” one with Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav deciding to contest from here. And from the looks of it, the former chief minister could cruise to a win here.
A 10-minute drive from Mulayam Singh Yadav’s native village Saifai, Karhal locals speak of unemployment, stray cattle destroying fields and say they want to bring the Samajwadi Party government back. “He (Akhilesh) does not even need to campaign. We are enough to make him win,” a local told News18.com.
The BJP is yet to announce its candidate to take on Akhilesh Yadav from Karhal, but local party leaders say he shouldn’t assume a runaway win. READ FULL STORY
In the Backyard of Babuji
Why did Akhilesh Yadav not turn up to pay his last respects to the late Kalyan Singh after he passed away in 2021? In the backyard of Babuji—as the deceased chief minister was popularly known—in Aligarh’s Atrauli area, this is an issue of debate for the upcoming elections.
Kalyan Singh’s grandson Sandeep Singh is the BJP candidate from Atrauli and says someone from the Yadav family should have come. The BJP has raked it up as disrespect to the OBC Lodh community. Contesting against Singh is SP candidate Viresh Yadav who surprised everyone with a win here in 2012.
Locals in Atrauli say Sandeep Singh is young and not very connected with the people on the ground but may still win given his family legacy. READ FULL STORY
Contest to Corner Muslim Votes in Deoband
The electoral battle in politically significant Deoband has intensified with Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM entering the fray and eyeing Muslim votes in the constituency. While the AIMIM and Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party are vying for Muslim votes here, the BJP is confident of its candidate and sitting MLA Kunwar Brijesh Singh’s victory.
The SP has a unique problem here with two candidates – Maviya Ali and Kartikey Rana – filing nomination from the party, but Ali’s bid may end in heartbreak.
Deoband Assembly constituency, the seat of top Islamic seminary of Darul Uloom, has approximately 3 lakh voters, of whom around 1.2 lakh are estimated to be Muslims.
While Union Home Minister Amit Shah has strategically clubbed his Deoband campaign with Muzzafanagar and Saharanpur tours, the Opposition has been careful not to polarise the electorate, making U-turn on its objection to the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) centre here. Some have even tried to throw the Jinahh controversy back in the BJP’s court. READ FULL STORY
Bhatta-Parsaul Disillusioned With Congress
Bhatta Parsaul, an area which came to the limelight after the anti-land acquisition movement in 2011 and led to Rahul Gandhi successfully taking up farmers cause at the national level, doesn’t have a credible Congress challenge anymore. After more than a decade, residents in these twin Uttar Pradesh villages – under Jewar Assembly constituency — feel they have been let down by the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi.
Those who lost family members in the anti-land acquisition movement told News18.com they feel “cheated” by the Congress leader and those surrounding him.
Some voters her, particularly those who have spent years in prison because of the agitation and have not taken compensation for the land, are disillusioned with all parties and plan to vote for NOTA this time. READ FULL STORY
‘Hindu Exodus’ No Longer an Issue in Kairana?
Years after BJP MP Hukum Singh alleged exodus of Hindu families, businessmen and farmers in Kairana say the atmosphere of fear has eased in the western Uttar Pradesh town. Law and order and employment have replaced the alleged exodus as the main election issue here.
Iqra Hassan, the sister of local SP MLA Naheed Hasan, who has been booked under the Gangsters Act and denied bail, finds some support among traders in the main Kairana market. She is fighting the election as an Independent candidate. BJP candidate Mriganka Singh, the daughter of Hukum Singh, enjoys support in rural Kairana, where she is banking on the legacy of her father.
The agitation against the now-repealed farm laws, too, finds little resonance here with sugarcane farmers from the Gujjar community saying the protests were by and for only “for a specific community”, a reference to Jats. READ FULL STORY
Majithia versus Sidhu in Amritsar East
It couldn’t have gotten more intense than this. Come February 20 and Amritsar will witness a blockbuster contest between Akali Dal’s Bikram Singh Majithia and his baiter-in-chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Majithia’s candidature was announced days after he was booked in a drugs smuggling case, something Sidhu had been demanding for over a year. The demand was partially responsible for the upheaval in Punjab Congress last year that saw Amarinder Singh walk out of the Congress after losing CM’s chair.
Banking on the “vendetta” plank, Majithia does face a tough task against sitting MLA Sidhu here, but the Punjab Congress chief’s campaign, too, is burdened by the uncertainty over shot at chief ministership. READ FULL STORY
AAP’s Mann Gambit in Malwa
By fielding its chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann from Punjab’s Dhuri constituency, the AAP seems to be sending a strong message to voters by installing party heavyweights as nominees in the politically significant Malwa region.
The Dhuri assembly segment falls under Mann’s Lok Sabha constituency Sangrur and had helped him garner the maximum number of votes in the 2019 general elections. With popularity cutting across caste lines despite being a Jat Sikh himself, Mann enjoys a strong support base in the area.
Punjab AAP leaders, in fact, are confident that Mann contesting from Malwa will give a push to other party candidates in this region. READ FULL STORY
Duel of the Daughters
They are divided by ideologies and political parties but united by a common motive – to avenge their fathers’ election defeat. Congress’s Anupama Rawat, the daughter of former chief minister Harish Rawat, is contesting from Haridwar (Rural), and BJP’s Ritu Khanduri, whose father BC Khanduri lost to the Congress in 2012, is fighting from Kotdwar.
It’s not a cakewalk for either of the two women, with caste factors playing a huge role in both seats. READ FULL STORY
BJP’s Northeastern Test
Riddled with insurgency since it gained statehood 50 years ago, Manipur will go to polls in two phases, on February 27 and March 4. The ruling BJP has claimed that it will win more than 41 seats in the 60-seat Assembly with the slogan ‘Hanna hanna BJP, henna henna chaokhatpa’ (Again and again BJP, more and more development). This, backed with the double-engine government theory, is something the BJP is banking on.
The Congress has formed an alliance with five left parties, but it is still unclear as to what benefits they will gain from it. Though the party has declared 40 candidates, its strategy for the upcoming polls is not yet clear.
Both parties have to cater their campaigns around major election issues like AFSPA withdrawal, violence and water scarcity. READ FULL STORY
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