Agencies
As the Lok Sabha elections enters the seventh and final phase, the focus has shifted to the ‘non-Yadav’ OBC voters in UP, whose support can determine the outcome of contests on 13 seats going to polls on June 1. The constituencies going to the polls in the final phase include Varanasi, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, Ghosi, Ghazipur, Ballia, Salempur, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Robertsganj. Although in Mirzapur, incumbent MP Anupriya Patel, the daughter of Apna Dal founder and OBC leader Sonelal Patel, is fielded against Ramesh Bind, the sitting BJP MP from adjoining Bhadohi, who joined the SP after the BJP denied him a ticket. Anupriya’s recent statement: “Now kings are born from EVMs and not the wombs of queens”, triggered a controversy as it was interpreted as targeting the powerful Thakur politician Raghuraj Pratap Singh. Patel’s core support comes from the Patel community, which constitutes a significant portion of Mirzapur’s electorate, with approximately 3.5 lakh votes. Brahmins, Vaishyas, and Kshatriyas together account for over 3.9 lakh votes. The Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) has fielded Manish Tripathi, a Brahmin candidate, potentially causing a split in the Brahmin vote, which typically favours the BJP.
