As the Congress Party aspires to replicate its success from 2009, when it secured numerous seats in eastern Uttar Pradesh, the impending phases of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on May 25 and June 1 loom large. The critical constituencies up for grabs on May 25 include Prayagraj, Ambedkarnagar, Shrawasti, Domariyaganj, Basti, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, and Bhadohi. Meanwhile, the notable constituencies on June 1 encompass Kushinagar, Bansgaon, Deoria, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Ghazipur, Chandauli, and Varanasi.
Insiders within the party reveal that, unlike the solo effort in 2009, the Congress is contesting the 2024 elections in alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP). “The Congress-SP coalition is thriving statewide. Having completed my tour of all 80 Lok Sabha seats with a final stop in Deoria on May 23, I have sensed a palpable desire for change among the electorate. There is significant discontent among the agrarian community and rampant unemployment among the youth in the eastern regions. Our pledges of government employment and debt relief resonate strongly with these demographics, likely bolstering our performance in the area,” stated Avinash Pande, the AICC in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, to ETV Bharat.
Emphasizing the eastern sector, Rahul Gandhi and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav recently held a joint campaign in Prayagraj, where Congress candidate Ujjawal Raman Singh faces off against the BJP’s Niraj Tripathi. In the 2019 general elections, Akhilesh Yadav secured a victory in the SP bastion of Azamgarh but vacated the seat in 2022 after assuming the role of MLA and leader of the opposition in the UP Assembly.
Congress will now deploy its star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi to Gorakhpur, the hometown of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Varanasi, Prime Minister Modi’s parliamentary stronghold. On May 25, Priyanka Gandhi and Dimple Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav’s wife, will spearhead a joint roadshow in Varanasi to garner support for Congress candidate Ajay Rai, who also heads the state unit.
“Priyanka Gandhi’s rally in Gorakhpur, coupled with her joint roadshow with Dimple Yadav, is poised to make a substantial impact on eastern UP,” commented Pande. On the same day, Akhilesh Yadav will campaign for SP’s Kajal Nishad in Gorakhpur and Congress’s Akhilesh Pratap Singh in Deoria. Congress leader Aman Mani Tripathi, who aspired for a ticket in Maharajganj, is actively campaigning for the party’s candidate, Virendra Chaudhary.
Party sources indicate a potential joint roadshow by Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav in Varanasi before the campaign’s conclusion. “When Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Nyay Yatra entered UP from Chandauli, we orchestrated a massive rally that saw overwhelming voluntary turnout,” Pande noted.
In the Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, and Mirzapur areas, the local strongman Raghuraj Pratap Singh is reportedly supporting SP candidates, which is expected to benefit the alliance. To counteract the BSP’s influence in the eastern region, Akhilesh Yadav has accused Mayawati’s party of collusion with the ruling BJP, whose bold claims of winning 400 plus seats have stoked fears of constitutional amendments and tampering with reservations among marginalized groups.
“The SC/ST voters in the eastern regions are particularly apprehensive about threats to their constitutional reservations. The BJP’s persistent assertions of securing 400 seats have alienated them,” Pande concluded.
