SP’s Azamgarh office to be ready before 2024 polls; Akhilesh to use it as strongroom for East U.P.

VARANASI With less than a year left for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has started laying the ground for a successful election run in the state. In this line, the party is constructing a grand new office in Azamgarh. The spacious office, which will also serve as a residence for SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, is poised to be the second most important party centre after Lucknow.

This new ‘Purvanchal office’ of the party will help SP leaders strategise for the parliamentary seats in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. To tighten the party’s grip in the region, Akhilesh is likely to spend at least two days every month at the office. An insider told HT that the preparations for the foundation laying of the office has been started. Thereafter, its construction would begin. Akhilesh would lay the foundation.

According to the initial proposal, the office is set to have six rooms and two big meeting halls. Two rooms -- one for office purpose and another for private use -- will be reserved for the party president. After the grand office gets ready, during his visit to Azamgarh, Akhilesh will stay in the office and meet party workers conveniently. The proposed office is around 6 km away from Maduri airstrip. After construction of the office in Azamgarh, Akhilesh Yadav’s visit to his parliamentary constituency are certain to increase.

It is worth mentioning that Azamgarh is politically very crucial given its surroundings. It shares boundaries with Ghazipur, Mau, Jaunpur, Ambedkarnagar, and Gorakhpur. The OBC population here is around 40%, SCs make up for 21% of the population, and around 19% Muslims make for a formidable SP vote bank. Together, they play a decisive role in several assembly constituencies as well as in almost all 11 Lok Sabha constituencies in Eastern U.P. districts.

The party has strategically chosen Azamgarh to set up a grand office to restrengthen its hold in the entire eastern U.P. region. Incidentally, whichever party does well in Eastern U.P. in assembly elections, succeeds in forming the government in the state.

For instance, the Samajwadi Party won 32 seats out of 61 in 10 districts, including Ghazipur, Ballia, Azamgarh (32 seats, including nine in Azamgarh), Jaunpur, Mau, Sonbhadra, Varanasi, Bhadohi, and Mirzapur in 2012, and it formed a full majority government led by Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh.

However, the SP could succeed in winning just five seats out of 10 in Azamagarh in 2017. However, the party successfully won 10 seats in Azamgarh in the 2022 assembly elections. The SP also did well in Chandauli -- winning one out of four seats; Bhadohi -- one out of three seats, Ballia -- three out of six seats; Mau -- two out of four seats; Ghazipur -- five out of seven seats; Jaunpur -- four out of nine seats; and other districts as well. Consequently, its total tally increased to 111 in 2022 from only 47 in 2017. So, Azamgarh is very crucial for the SP.

In comparison, the SP failed to open account in Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Varanasi, the stronghold of the BJP in 2022. Speaking on the importance of Azamgarh for SP, the party’s district unit general secretary, Hariprasad Dubey, said, “Azamgarh has always been very important for our party. Since our inception days, Azmagarh nurtured the Samajwadi Party and played a crucial role in its expansion across the state and beyond... Azamgarh’s geography, topography, and districts in its surrounding together form such (political) equations which suit our party the most.”

Simultaneously, whenever party chief Akhilesh visits Azamgarh, a large number of party workers come to meet him. However, due to space crunch at circuit house or wherever he stays, it becomes inconvenient for party workers to meet him. Therefore, the SP decided to build the office, added Dubey.

He further said that a big office-cum-residence of the party national president Akhilesh Yadav is very essential in Azamgarh. Party started preparations in this direction around two years ago. The land for the party office in Anwarganj area near the city has been purchased, said Dubey while adding that if all goes well, the party office construction will begin soon.

The office will help strengthen the party at the ground level across the entire Eastern Uttar Pradesh, asserts Dubey. SP MLA Nafees Ahmad, who represents Gopalpur Assembly seat of Azamagarh, confirmed that the party purchased around two acres of land in Anwarganj area of Azamgarh for a grand office of the party in Azamgarh.

Another SP leader, pleading anonymity, said that the party office will be equipped with various facilities and some rooms for the visitors would also be part of it in order that the workers coming from far-flung areas may stay here during party meetings. Significantly, the party chief’s office will help cover all the assembly constituencies in eastern U.P. districts, including Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Varanasi, Ballia, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Sonbhadra, Mau, Bhadohi, and Mirzapur.

Political analyst Prof Kaushal Kishore Mishra says, “Apparently, this is an effort by the SP to save its ground in Eastern U.P. where the BJP has done very well in the last two assembly and parliamentary elections. By building its office, the SP is trying to counter the BJP which has its epicentre in Varanasi.”

SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav was elected MP from Azmagarh in 2014. Thereafter, the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav won the Azamgarh parliamentary seat in 2019. However, SP candidate Dharmendra Yadav lost the Azmagarh parliamentary seat to the BJP in the by-election in June 2022 which was necessitated as SP chief Akhilesh Yadav vacated the seat after being elected an MLA to lead the party in U.P. Assembly.