Dhananjay's entry upsets equations in Jaunpur

Charge-sheeted along with his wife for murdering their maid in Delhi, mafia don-turned-politician Dhananjay Singh’s entry into the poll contest has upset electoral equations in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. 

In this Lok Sabha constituency, the powerful Thakur community plays a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the polls.

Singh, who had been enlarged on interim bail by a Delhi court to look after his ailing father, is a sitting Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP from the seat.  

He was denied a ticket this time and was expelled following his indictment. Singh was also an accused in a rape case. Once known for its thriving “itra” (scent) industry, the district is now among the most backward in the state and a large number of youths from the area migrate to Maharashtra and Kolkata in search of employment. The industrial centre established at Satahariya in the neighbouring Machlishahar constituency in the district remains undeveloped even after 20 years.

The district, which was once a centre for study of Persian and Urdu during the Mughal era, lies in utter neglect. “Successive governments have not made any attempt to promote tourism despite the potential,” says social activist Raj Kumar Ojha.

Ojha, who had been in the forefront of an agitation for the creation of a separate state of Poorvanchal comprising districts in the eastern part of the state, said that the scent industry is almost finished and there was no employment opportunities here.

“Caste politics has ruined the district. No one talks about development here and the biggest loser is the youth of the region who have to go out to other states to earn money,” said Raghavendra Singh, a student.

Caste equations have always decided the outcome of the polls here. The constituency has Thakurs, Dalits, Brahmins and Muslims in sizable numbers. The BJP has fielded K P Singh in the hope of cornering Thakur votes. But Singh’s entry has upset this calculation.“Dhananjay will certainly eat into the Thakur votes and this will mar the BJP’s chances,” says Santosh Singh, a former block president of Sikrara. 

Santosh talks of a “Modi Wave”, especially in the urban areas, but feels that the caste equations may ultimately decide the outcome.

And to seek sympathy of the electorate, Singh has been talking of his humiliation by the BSP. The BSP has given ticket to Subhash Pandey, a powerful Brahmin leader. Pandey is banking on the support of the Brahmins and the Dalits to sail through.

SP’s Paras Nath Yadav is a sitting MLA from Malhani Assembly seat in the constituency. Yadav hopes to corner the Muslim votes along with the Yadav votes.