From INDIA bloc’s ‘Fauji Baba’ to rebel trouble, things get challenging for BJP’s Chahar in Fatehpur Sikri
Forty kilometres from Agra stands the Buland Darwaza (the Door of Victory) – believed to be the world’s highest gate, built by Mughal Emperor Akbar at his walled capital city of Fatehpur Sikri to commemorate his triumph over Gujarat. Four centuries later, the BJP, led by Narendra Modi, a Gujarati, is facing a stiff challenge from the Congress candidate, a former army man, while a BJP rebel is already causing sleepless nights for the sitting BJP MP.
Agra: The youngest parliamentary constituency in the Braj area, Fatehpur Sikri, is gearing up for a close contest this time. Out of the seventeen constituencies that the Congress party is contesting in Uttar Pradesh as part of an alliance with the Samajwadi Party, Fatehpur Sikri is one of the seats where the Congress can sense success, as the BJP is grappling with anti-incumbency and internal dissent.
Raj Kumar Chahar, the incumbent MP for the BJP, secured a victory with a margin of 5 lakh votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. He defeated Raj Babbar, the then-state president of the Congress, who had previously served as an MP from Agra twice (with the SP) and once from Firozabad (with the Congress).
After the delimitation in 2008, the parliamentary constituency of Fatehpur Sikri, previously part of Agra, came into existence and went to the polls for the first time in 2009. The Bahujan Samaj Party candidate was Seema Upadhayaya, the wife of Ramveer Upadhayaya, a prominent Brahmin face associated with the famous social engineering of the BSP in 2007 that brought the party to power for the first time in the state on its own.
Political Scenario
Historians suggest that Mughal Emperor Akbar had to abandon Fatehpur Sikri as the capital due to a shortage of water. BJP candidate Raj Kumar Chahar claims that his efforts to bring Gangajal here will bring about significant change, however, he faces an massive anti-incumbency and much like other constituencies, he too is relying on the Modi-Yogi factor. Locals suggest that Chahar, national chairman of the Kisan Morcha of the BJP, should have been more active in the area he represents.
In the second phase of the election, no prominent leaders campaigned for the Congress candidate in Mathura. However, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi is scheduled to hold a roadshow in support of Congress candidate Ram Nath Sikarwar, also known as Fauji Baba, in Fatehpur Sikri on May 3.
Ram Nath Sikarwar has his own following. He resides in the village of Kheragarh and is often sleeps in the temple. He travels in a four-wheeler and enjoys sattu during the summer and carrots in the winter. Details about his army background remain unclear, and he is often described as temperamental.
Sikarwar’s popularity is not the only concern for the BJP candidate Raj Kumar Chahar, there is also infighting led by sitting BJP MLA Chaudhary Babulal, whose son Rameshwar Chaudhary has filed papers as an independent candidate. Interestingly, like the BJP candidate, Rameshwar Chaudhary is a Jat in this predominantly Jat area.
Rameshwar Chaudhary has a history of rebellion, having contested two elections in the past. In 1998, he ran as an independent candidate and garnered 2 lakh votes. Subsequently, he contested as an RLD candidate from Mathura in 1999, losing by 11,000 votes. He later joined the BJP with his father in 2013 and has remained within the party since then.
In 2019, the first candidate to win from the Fatehpur Sikri Lok Sabha seat was Seema Upadhyay, a Brahmin who contested on the BSP ticket. The BSP has opted to repeat this successful formula by fielding Ram Niwas Sharma, also a Brahmin, thereby making the Fatehpur Sikri contest somewhat quadrangular.
Caste Combinations
In the three elections held for the Fatehpur Sikri Lok Sabha seat, a Brahmin candidate emerged victorious once, while two Jats won in 2014 and 2019. However, Jats constitute only 1.75 lakh voters in the area, with the dominant caste being Thakur, numbering 3.5 lakhs, followed by Brahmins at 3 lakhs and others such as Muslims and Vaishyas at 1 lakh each. Among the backward castes, Kushwahas number 1.4 lakhs and Nishads 1.25 lakhs.
The Thakurs, whom the opposition claims are discontented with the BJP, have Fauji Baba of Congress as Thakur candidate, who asserts to have the support of Muslims as well.
In the Bah assembly, where the majority consists of Thakurs, BJP MLA Rani Pakshalika Singh from the Bhadawar Royal family could have been a source of relief for the BJP. However, the situation doesn’t appear to be smooth, prompting the BJP to enlist the support of retired Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadoria, another Thakur from Bah who recently joined the BJP. Bhadoria was brought in to hold a roadshow for the BJP candidate, which includes Bateshwar, the paternal village of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, renowned for its Shiv Temples along the Yamuna.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has also addressed a public meeting here, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought votes for Chahar at a rally in Agra city. Interestingly, in both these gatherings, Chaudhary Babulal, the BJP MLA from Fatehpur Sikri who won as a BJP candidate in 2014, was missing.
