BJP Candidate Shakya Accuses SP of Desperation, Field 'Scapegoat' from Budaun

Sensing defeat in its hitherto stronghold Budaun, which has already been breached in the last general elections, the Samajwadi Party has fielded a scapegoat from the constituency with a sizeable Yadav population, the BJP candidate against Shivpal Singh Yadavs son has claimed.As of now, in Uttar Pradesh, there is no bastion of anyone political party.

Sensing defeat in its hitherto stronghold Budaun, which has already been breached in the last general elections, the Samajwadi Party has fielded a ''scapegoat'' from the constituency with a sizeable Yadav population, the BJP candidate against Shivpal Singh Yadav's son has claimed.

''As of now, in Uttar Pradesh, there is no bastion of anyone (political party). It is the lotus (BJP's election symbol), whose bastion is seen everywhere. Be it Azamgarh, Kannauj or Rampur, which they (Samajwadi Party) used to consider their bastions, all have been breached. ''They even used to term Budaun as their bastion, but in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, they lost it despite the SP-BSP alliance,'' BJP nominee Durgvijay Singh Shakya told PTI in an interview.

Sensing his defeat, Shivpal Singh Yadav has opted out of the poll and made his son Aditya Yadav a ''scapegoat'', he said.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav had named Shivpal Yadav as the party nominee from Budaun but later, on Shivpal's request, fielded his son Aditya Yadav.

Shakya accused the SP of indulging in dynastic politics.

''In the entire UP, they have given four-five tickets to Yadavs, and all of them are the members of the Yadav family. In Budaun, first Dharmendra Yadav was sent. After he went away, it was Shivpal Yadav who came here, and travelled across the constituency for 10 days. ''After sensing fear and a defeat from me in the Lok Sabha polls, he made his son the candidate from Budaun, and has fielded him as a scapegoat,'' he said.

''First, it was the nephew (Dharmendra Yadav) who trapped his uncle (Shivpal Yadav), and then the uncle trapped his own child,'' Shakya told PTI.

Shakya also claimed that he will win the election from Budaun, which will go to vote in the third phase on May 7, with a record margin of votes. ''The people of Budaun will outrightly reject the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress, and they are showering their blessings on Prime Minister Narendra Modi,'' Shakya said.

''Today, there is a wave of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. They (SP) are paying for the sins which they had committed, while they were in power in the state. Loot, murder and rape had virtually become the identity of Uttar Pradesh during the regime of the Samajwadi Party,'' he said.

When asked whether he is facing a tough contest since the MLAs in three assembly segments of Budaun are from the SP and only two are from the BJP, Shakya said, ''The question of a tough contest does not arise. The atmosphere is one-sided, and it is in favour of the BJP.'' ''The wife and sister of the SP MLA from Bisauli (SC) assembly segment, Ashutosh Maurya, are campaigning for the BJP. The MLA is from the Samajwadi Party, but his family is with us, and is campaigning for us,'' he said.

The Budaun Lok Sabha seat consists of four assembly segments of the Budaun district -- Bisauli (SC), Sahaswan, Bilsi and Budaun -- and Gunnaur (in the Sambhal district).

Three MLAs -- Ramkhiladi Singh Yadav (Gunnaur), Ashutosh Maurya (Bisauli-SC) and Brajesh Yadav (Sahaswan) -- are from the SP, while two MLAs -- Harish Shakya (Bilsi) and Mahesh Chandra Gupta (Budaun).

Refuting allegations of SP workers that development in Budaun has halted since 2019, Shakya said, ''This is not the case. In fact, it is the other way round. There was no development in Budaun during the SP regime. Budaun is a backward district. ''The Gunnaur assembly segment, which was once represented by former UP chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, is very backward. And at times, my soul cries seeing the backwardness of this area.'' Asked about his priorities for the development of Budaun, Shakya said that the Ganga Expressway, which is being constructed, is passes through Budaun. ''An industrial corridor has been announced on the side of the Ganga Expressway. My first priority will be to get industries installed on that industrial corridor and generate employment for the local youngsters. Secondly, it will be my endeavour to improve education and health care facilities in Budaun, and I will also try to remove the backwardness of this district,'' he said.

While there are 11 candidates in the fray from Budaun, the main contest is between BJP's Durvijay Singh Shakya and SP's Aditya Yadav.

Although it's Aditya Yadav who is contesting the election, it is the prestige of his father Shivpal Yadav -- a six-time MLA from the Jaswantnagar assembly of the Etawah district -- which is at stake. He along with other party leaders has been campaigning for Aditya Yadav, to reclaim the Budaun seat, which they had won in 2014, from the BJP. More than 20.07 lakh voters of Budaun will exercise their franchise to elect their new Lok Sabha MP.

Ten parliamentary constituencies -- Budaun, Sambhal, Hathras (SC), Agra (SC), Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Aonla and Bareilly will go to polls on May 7.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)