In a strategic move aimed at cornering Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on his home turf, the Samajwadi Party (SP) fielded the wife of a former BJP Brahmin leader from Gorakhpur City assembly seat.
Shubhawati Shukla, who was the wife of BJP leader late Upendra Dutt Shukla, will be the SP nominee from Gorakhpur against Adityanath. Her name appeared in the SP list of candidates released on Monday.
Shubhawati and her two sons had met senior SP leaders in the state capital a few days back. They later joined the party in the presence of SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav.
Upendra Shukla had contested the Lok Sabha bypoll from Gorakhpur seat in 2018 after Adityanath became UP CM and vacated the seat but had lost to the SP nominee. Shukla and Adityanath, though belonging to the same party, had been opponents within the party politics and Adityanath had also opposed his nomination from Gorakhpur in the LS bypoll.
SP sources here said that the decision to field Shubhawati Shukla against Adityanath was taken keeping in view of the presence of a large number of Brahmin voters in the constituency "Brahmins are not happy with Adityanath. The community is angry over alleged persecution of the Brahmins during his regime," said a senior SP leader here while speaking to DH.
Shubhawati's candidature against Adityanath assumes significance as it comes within days of joining of prominent local Brahmin leader Hari Shankar Tewari to the SP a few days back. Tewari is considered to be an influential Brahmin leader from Gorakhpur.
Bhim Army founder and Dalit leader Chandrashekhar alias Ravan has declared that he will contest against Adityanath. The BSP has fielded a Muslim candidate from the seat.
Gorakhpur City assembly constituency had been a bastion of the BJP and the saffron party has not lost there since 1967, the days of Jansangh. The incumbent MLA from the seat Radhamohan Das Aagarwal, an Adityanath confidante, has been winning from there since 2002.
Adityanath was tipped to contest from either Ayodhya or Mathura but was declared a nominee from Gorakhpur surprising many even within the BJP here.
Adityanath's decision to shift to Gorakhpur had invited sarcastic remarks from the opposition. "It is good that he has decided to contest from Gorakhpur, his home town. He would not now have to leave the town. He will remain there as his party is going to lose the polls," Akhilesh had said.
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