The two Seat Conundrum in Elections

The two Seat Conundrum in Elections

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced Vadodara as the second constituency from where party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will be contesting the Lok Sabha elections.

Apart from Vadodara, Modi is also contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

In an obvious bid to halt the Modi ripple effect in eastern UP, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has decided to contest the Azamgarh seat in Uttar Pradesh, too. His candidature from Mainpuri, which he represents in the Lok Sabha, has already been announced.

The Yadav supremo is learnt to be planning to win both the seats and then vacate Mainpuri for Prateek to contest in the by-election. Vacating strongholds for family members seems to be a tradition in the family, and has happened earlier in Ferozabad, Kannauj, Sambhal and Budaun.

Akhilesh had won Ferozabad and Kannauj in 2009. He vacated the former from where his wife Dimple Yadav contested but lost to Raj Babbar in the by-election. Later, Akhilesh vacated Kannauj when he became CM, and Dimple won unopposed from there. Mulayam has similarly left Sambhal and Budaun in the past for close relatives. The SP has won the Azamgarh seat twice. It is indeed ironical that Ramakant Yadav, who won the seat for SP both the times, will now be posing a strong challenge to the SP supremo as the BJP nominee this time.

However, party leaders are more than confident that once Mulayam is there, Ramakant would stand no chance. "When 'netaji' is himself in the contest, Ramakant would stand nowhere," said senior SP leader Naresh Agarwal. Muslims, Yadavs and all backwards would go with Mulayam, he added.

The above is a scourge, a crime committed on the nation and the people.

It should be stopped immediately.

I am gland the Supreme Court has taken up the matter and this will be the last election where this crime will be allowed.