Uttar Pradesh’s ‘Leather Belt’ Unnao, situated on the banks of the Ganges River, is set for a historic showdown between BJP’s firebrand leader Sakshi Maharaj — who is keen to score a hat-trick — and Samajwadi Party’s Annu Tandon, an INDIA bloc candidate.
The constituency, which is situated at a distance of 65 kilometres from the state capital, will go to polls in the fourth phase on May 13.
News18 travelled to Unnao to understand the situation on the ground and learnt that apart from discontent over unemployment and paper leaks, voters are also unhappy with Sakshi Maharaj for neglecting development in the constituency. Besides, labourers and slum dwellers said they were not getting benefits of government’s welfare schemes, which had built resentment among them.
Once called a stronghold of Congress, Unnao — which is famous all over the world for its leather work — holds a distinct position in UP politics.
“We are not getting any benefits of government schemes. Though some locals who hail from the nearby villages claim to be getting gas cylinders, we haven’t got any,” said Rakesh Kumar, a local who hails from Unnao.
Another labourer Mohammed Miraj said his vote will go to INDIA bloc since their candidate Tandon is active in the field. “We voted Sakshi Maharaj to power twice. But, both times he remained absent from his constituency and hardly did any work for the welfare of the constituency despite the fact that BJP is doing very well in other districts. It’s the only reason why we will vote for change,” said Miraj.
Not far away from the industrial area lies DSN PG College where students expressed their concern about unemployment and said their vote will go to the party that addresses the issue. “Over the years, unemployment has increased. We are concerned about our future. The Agniveer scheme has made the situation worse. Our vote will go to the party that addresses the issue,” said Pushpendra Pandey, a student.
Another student demanded a law to plug paper leaks to ensure free and fair exams. “The UP government should come up with stricter laws to check paper leaks that are spoiling the future of the youth,” he said.
Priyanka Shukla, another student, hailed BJP’s ‘Izzatghar Scheme’ that aims to construct toilets in every household in rural pockets but said there is a need to launch a thorough inspection as the majority of toilets are in bad shape. “I think senior officials should visit the villages to assess the ground reality. Most of the toilets are either lying defunct or are being used to store fodder,” she said.
The locals of Moti Nagar hailed BJP for constructing the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya but said that would not sway them to vote for the local candidate who has done nothing for the constituency.
“Maharaj-ji is spending extensively to carry out religious programmes in Unnao but when it comes to the construction of roads or carrying out other developmental work, he has done nothing in the last 10 years,” said Pushpendra Nigam, a trader from Moti Nagar area.
Others, however, said their vote will go to Prime Minister Narendra Modi irrespective of the local candidate. “For us, it’s Modi-ji who matters and not the local candidate,” said Naresh Pandey, a local from Moti Nagar.
Explaining the politics of Unnao, Ram Singh, a political enthusiast, said: “Since 1952, the Unnao Lok Sabha seat was a Congress bastion until 1984, barring the year 1977 when the seat went to Raghvendra Singh of Janata Party. Despite occasional representation by the Congress, Janata Dal, and Samajwadi Party, the BJP has maintained a robust presence in Unnao since 1991.”
According to the 2011 census, the total population of the Unnao Lok Sabha constituency is 31,08,367, with 82.9 per cent residing in rural areas and 17.1 per cent in urban areas. The constituency comprises a Scheduled Caste population of 30.52 per cent. It consists of six Vidhan Sabha seats — Mohan, Unnao, Bangarmau, Safipur, Bhagwantnagar, and Purwa, with Safipur and Mohan reserved for the Scheduled Caste category.
Since Independence until 2019, the parliamentary history of the Unnao constituency has seen 16 Lok Sabha elections and one by-election. Among these, Congress emerged victorious nine times, while BJP secured victory four times. The Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Janata Party each won once.
Unnao witnessed robust electoral contests in both the 2019 and 2014 elections. BJP’s Sakshi Maharaj emerged victorious both times, securing substantial margins. In 2019, he garnered 7,03,507 votes, defeating Samajwadi Party’s Arun Shanker Shukla by 4,00,956 votes. Similarly, in 2014, Sakshi Maharaj triumphed with 518,834 votes, leaving Shukla trailing by 310,173 votes.
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