From the medieval times to the modern era, Sambhal in Rohilkhand region of West Uttar Pradesh has had a chequered historical past.
At various times, it has been under the sway of Prithviraj Chauhan, Qutub-ud-din Aibak, Firoz Shah Tughlaq, Sikandar Lodi and the Mughals.
With the advent of democracy, new political equations have been written in the Sambhal Lok Sabha constituency, known for its bonecraft and wood craft as well as sugar industries.
After coming into existence in 1977, the Sambhal Lok Sabha constituency has produced a wide range of winners – the Janata Party, Congress, Janata Dal, Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janta Party.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election when the Modi wave swept the state, Samajwadi Party candidate Shafiqur Rehman Barq won the Sambhal seat, defeating BJP candidate Parameshvar Lal Saini by over 2 lakh votes. In 2014, the BJP won the seat for the first time as its candidate Satyapal Singh Saini defeated Barq by a slender margin of over 5,000 votes in a fierce contest. The constituency has 22% Muslim, 21% Yadav and around 16% Dalit voters.
Now, the battle lines are drawn again in Sambhal, which is going to polls in the third phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 7.
The Samajwadi Party has fielded Zia ur Rehman Barq, the party MLA from Kundarki, after the demise of sitting MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq, the initial candidate. Despite his defeat in 2019, the BJP has reposed faith in Parameshvar Lal Saini, an OBC leader. The BSP has given the ticket to former Samajwadi Party MLA Shaulat Ali, setting the stage for a three-cornered contest.
The BJP has mobilised its cadre to breach the SP fort and top ruling party leaders are campaigning in the constituency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation of Shri Kalki Dham temple on February 19. This, in addition to the support of influential Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam’s support has boosted the morale of BJP workers.
BJP strategists hope the Hindutva card will win the support of the upper caste Brahmin, Rajput, Vaishya as well as non Yadav OBC Gujjar, Lodh, Kurmi, Jat, Khagi and Dalits who together constitute around 50% of the voters.
The Samajwadi Party is yet to launch its campaign in the constituency that was once the pocket borough of the Yadav family. Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav had won Sambhal seat twice in the 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha election while national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav bagged it in 2004.
This time, the SP hopes to retain the seat with the support of Yadav and Muslim voters. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had visited the constituency after Barq’s death.
In the 1989 and 1991 Lok Sabha elections, Sripal Singh Yadav won the seat on the Janata Dal ticket. DP Yadav wrested the seat on the Bahujan Samaj Party ticket in the 1996 Lok Sabha election. In 2009, Shafiqur Rehman Barq surprised political analysts by winning the election on the BSP ticket, defeating Iqbal Mehmood of the SP.
The BSP won the Sambhal seat twice in the 1996 and 2009 Lok Sabha election. This time, the party is working on Dalit- Muslim formula. BSP chief Mayawati has fielded Muslim candidates on a majority of the seats in Rohilkhand region to dent the INDIA bloc support base.
Along with Shaulat Ali from Sambhal, the BSP has fielded Majid Ali in Saharanpur, Dr Mujahid Hussain in Amroha, Mohammad Irfan Saifi in Moradabad, Zishan Khan in Rampur, Abid Ali in Aonla, and Anis Ahmad Khan aka Phool Babu in Pilibhit.
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