Lok Sabha election: In ‘Suhag Nagari’ Firozabad, issues on ground wedded to larger poll picture?
The electoral scene has changed in Firozabad since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The Samajwadi Party’s ‘chacha-bhatija’ feud is now a thing of the past. The BJP is out to retain the seat in ‘Suhag Nagari’, which is famous for bangles, but faces a strong challenge from the SP.
Located on the Delhi-Kanpur highway, Firozabad was earlier a part of Agra but became a separate district in 1989. Famous for the bangles made virtually in every lane of the city and the villages, Firozabad is also known as “Suhag Nagari”. Also termed the glass city, Firozabad falls within the Taj Trapezium Zone, an area earmarked around Taj Mahal with restrictions on the use of coal and coke as fuel. The glass industry here has improvised and now uses natural gas. Facing stiff competition from China, mainly in glass chandeliers and glass bottles, Firozabad looks for government incentives.
The civic amenities and inadequate health infrastructure have given Firozabad a bad name in the post-monsoon season with waterlogged areas resulting in health hazards. The labour-oriented glass industry is capable of a leap if it is properly taken care of, but working conditions of the glass unit workers need attention.
PAST ELECTIONS
Despite being a part of Yadav heartland, Firozabad had never been a cakewalk for the Samajwadi Party. The BJP had first won it in 1991, during the peak of the Ram temple movement. The BJP retained the seat in 1996 and 1998.
In 1999, Ramji Lal Suman wrested the seat for the Samajwadi Party and retained it in 2004. Earlier, he had won the seat for the Janata Party in 1977 and for the Janata Dal in 1989. Firozabad was a reserved seat for a long time.
The Firozabad seat turned high profile in 2009 when Akhilesh Yadav won it. However, he soon vacated the seat as he had also won from Kannauj.
His wife Dimple Yadav lost the ensuing by-election to Congress candidate Raj Babbar in 2009.
Raj Babbar moved to Ghaziabad in the 2014 Lok Sabha election and senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav’s son Akshay Yadav won the 2014 election despite the Modi wave sweeping the nation.
Akshay Yadav polled more than 5 lakh votes on his debut. He won by over one lakh votes, defeating SP Singh Baghel of the BJP.
In 2019, the family feud between Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal had helped the BJP win the seat. The traditional Samajwadi Party votes were divided between Shivpal Yadav who got 91,869 votes while his nephew Akshay Yadav polled 4,67,038 votes, losing to BJP candidate Chandra Sen Jadaun by 28,781. Jadaun polled 4,95,819 votes.
CLOSE CONTEST
Five years later, in the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Samajwadi Party has long overcome its feud. Chacha and Bhatija are on the same team, and therefore, the electoral contest in Firozabad has once again become interesting.
For the 2024 contest, the BJP took quite long in declaring a candidate and finally chose Vishwadeep Singh, a Kshatriya. Vishwadeep Singh had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Firozabad as the BSP candidate but finished third.
Chaudhary Basheer was named the BSP candidate a day before the nomination day, replacing Satyendra Jain Soly, a trend very common with BSP in this Lok Sabha election. Chaudhary Basheer, a former minister in state cabinet, had been the Agra Cantt MLA. He polled 2541 votes in Firozabad as an independent candidate in 2019.
Ram Gopal Yadav is camping in Firozabad since the early days of the campaign and has covered much of the constituency. On the other hand, the BJP candidate seems to be relying only on the Modi-Yogi factor to counter the SP.
ISSUES
The glass and bangle industry are labour-oriented and unemployment is a major issue for the educated youth.
Backed by the strong MY (Muslim Yadav) combination, the Samajwadi Party is targeting the “inactiveness” of sitting BJP MP Chandra Sen Jadaun, who was denied the party ticket this time. With no other candidate from a dominant backward caste, the SP aims to win over the non-Yadav OBC voters, who are otherwise loyal to the BJP.
The BJP candidate’s poll planks include the improvement in the law-and-order situation since 2017 under the Yogi Adityanath regime, welfare schemes and Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Traders and industrialists from all sections of the society acknowledge the improved law and order situation.
“Prior to 2017, businessmen had to wind up their business and travelling with money before sunset. With law and order under control, business and industry are growing with no fear of loot or riots,” said a shopkeeper in Firozabad market.
