Lok Sabha Elections 2024: SP banks on caste equations to capture saffron fort, BJP on Gorakshnath Peeth

Gorakhpur (UP): Home to the famous Gorakhnath Temple, which has followers not only across the country but also abroad, Gorakhpur, the home town of firebrand saffron leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has undergone a sea change over the past few years, especially after Adityanath took over the reins of the state in 2017.

The town is also home to the Gita Press, which is the world’s largest publisher of Hindu religious texts and birthplace of famous Urdu poet Firaq Gorakhpuri.

The once cramped roads in the busy Golghar locality have been widened, the famous Ramgarh Tal has become the biggest tourist attraction following its beautification and the flyovers to decongest the city are testimony to the rapidly changing town.

The people of the town, by and large, agree that Gorakhpur has transformed greatly and the credit for the same goes to Adityanath, who holds sway over the electorate, at least in the town. In fact, such has been his sway in the town that he had his close aide Radha Mohandas Aagarwal elected as Hindu Mahasabha candidate against the official BJP nominee Shiv Pratap Shukla in 2002 from Gorakhpur Sadar assembly seat after the saffron party refused to give ticket to Agarwal.

A five time MP from Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat, Adityanath had romped home by over one lakh votes in the 2022 assembly polls from Gorakhpur Sadar seat. Barring 2018, when the Samajwadi Party (SP) managed to successfully weave a favourable caste equation and defeated the BJP in a by-poll, the saffron party had won the seat since 1989 largely owing to the influence of the Gorakshnath Peeth.

In 2018, the SP had fielded Praveen Kumar Nishad with an eye on 4.5 lakh voters of the ‘Nishad’ (fishermen) community. This time also, the SP has fielded Kajal Nishad, a Bhojpuri film actress, who takes on BJP’s Ravi Kishan, the sitting MP and a popular Bhojpuri film actor.

Although the BJP, apparently realising the electoral influence of the Nishad community, managed to bring the Nishad Party to its fold after the defeat, the community appears to be divided this time, which may be a cause of concern for the saffron party.

‘’The Nishad community votes will be divided as the members of the community are not very happy with the Nishad Party... several leaders of the Nishad Party can be seen campaigning for Kajal Mishad,’’ said a local scribe in Gorakhpur.

He said that the SP nominee might give a tough fight to the BJP if she managed to divide her community voters and got the support of 2.5 lakh Yadavs and 1.5 lakh Muslim voters. An impressive turnout at the joint election rally addressed by SP president Akhilesh Yadav and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held a few days back here has infused a new lease of life in the SP supporters.

BSP, however, fielded a Muslim candidate and there are fears in the SP camp that he may eat into the party’s Muslim support base.

Nishad Party president Sanjay Nishad, who is also a minister in the Adityanath cabinet, has been sweating here to prevent any division in the Nishad vote bank.

BJP is banking on the influence of the Gorakshnath Peeth in the region to sail through. ‘’The Peeth is highly respected and has a large following in the region,’’ says Sanjay Srivastava, a resident of the town, who runs his own firm.

The saffron party appears to be assured of the support of around three lakh Brahmin and Rajput voters, besides one lakh ‘Bhumihar’ community voters, in addition to the Nishad community support. ‘’The Peeth has following cutting across caste lines,’’ Srivastava says. And, a visit to the Gorakhnath Temple, situated in the heart of the town, will bear testimony to this fact. Devotees not only from the region but also from Nepal flock the Temple in large numbers.

Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency is a prestige seat for Adityanath and even a significant reduction in the victory margin will certainly dent his political stature.

Polling here will take place on June 1 in the seventh and last phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

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