Purvanchal - the gateway to Lucknow.

 If the road to New Delhi passes through the dusty lanes of Uttar Pradesh, the road the Lucknow passes through the begrimed alleys of Purvanchal . To put it in other words, Purvanchal is considered to be the gateway to Lucknow. When the election commission beats the election drum in the most populated state of India, political parties begin gathering in the region to sway over the political atmosphere to their advantage.

Hefty promises are what followed, aided with substantial monetary allowances if voted to power. Political activeness engulfs the entire region which otherwise normally experiences a nearly calm and sober political milieu. This mettlesome behavior of the leaders when the election remains round the clock is best understood with the political significance, Purvanchal enjoys.

The region lies in the eastern Uttar Pradesh, and borders Nepal in south. In east it is bound by Bihar, Bagelkhand of Madhya Pradesh region in north and Awadh region in west. Purvanchal is the home of 28 districts which are further sub-divided into 164 constituencies. Purvanchal has never been taken lightly by any political party either national or regional.

If one takes a ride through the election results of the past three assembly elections, i.e. 2017, 2012 and 2007, it becomes crystal clear that no party has enjoyed stability of majority in the state, if it failed to outperform its rivals in the Purvanchal region. In 2017 assembly election, BJP was successful in making the government after a long wait of 15 years as it won 115 seats of total 167 seats of the region.

2012 assembly election saw the return of SP in power, one major contributing factor to this was the party’s excellent performance in Purvanchal where it won 102 seats. BSP won 2007 assembly elections as it scripted a record performance in the region by securing as many as 85 seats.

The current assembly election which starts from the next month shows a somewhat different trend. The people of Purvanchal have always changed their political color. In order to win over the voters’ advantage, political parties try to engineer their caste based (Mandal) and religion based (Kamandal) statistics. BSP enjoys the mass votebank of dalits which comprise of about 22% in the region. Traditionally, Yadavs which comprise of around 12-13% are known for lending their weight behind SP.

With the entry of AIMIM, the election is steering towards an interesting direction given the 16-17% population of Muslims in the region. Other caste groups such as Rajputs, who resolutely back BJP, amount to total around 6-7% of total population, Brahmins who act more like a pendulum number around 12-13%, Nishads 3-4%, Rajbhars 3-4%, Sonkars 1.5% and Kurmis 4-5% also play a significant role in deciding the political destiny of political parties.

Of the 28 districts which lie in the region, a few of them have religious significance which is a major polarizing factor. Incumbent chief minister of the state will be contesting assembly election from Gorakhpur Urban, ensuring the additional advantage to his party. At the same time Varanasi which recently got the Vishwanath corridor made, is the Lok Sabha area of our PM. In the latest reshuffling of union cabinet, BJP inducted as many as two ministers hailing from Purvanchal region, keeping the political importance of the region in mind. Anupriya Patel who has a substantial influence over Kurmi voters and Pankaj Chaudhary, a wealthy businessman of the area, found themselves in the newly engineered cabinet.

These facts narrate the electoral noteworthiness of Purvanchal. In the past few months, several infrastructure projects have either been inaugurated or founding stones for the same have been laid down which include airports and expressways. The Purvanchal is yet to get its due. In HDI reports, the region always lags behind raising serious questions on representatives. Crime of every sort is very frequent given the high-handedness of administration that belongs hand in gloves with criminals.

In every aspect of Indian history, either pre-independence or post-independence era, Purvanchal has always contributed its part when a need has emerged besides being a birthplace of several legendary freedom fighters. The echelons who have been campaigning in the area since a long time now, ought to make genuine promises rather than erecting sandcastled claims. Political parties who seek votes from the electors should take onus to take the region on the path of development.