Riding on Beni Prasad Verma legacy in Gonda, SP debutant Shreya braces for BJP’s Ayodhya challenge

SP women wing national vice-president Shreya’s political journey has been closely linked to her grandfather’s legacy and the Mulayam Singh-founded party.

Faced with the charge of being an “outsider” from her rivals, Shreya has been highlighting her family’s old connection with Gonda, pledging her commitment to the socialist ideology championed by Beni Prasad Verma and her party. (Express)

Although her name figured in the second list of the SP’s candidates released on February 19, Shreya had already launched her public outreach in Gonda several days earlier, with SP women wing chief Juhie Singh joining her campaign.

Shreya did her schooling at Welham Girl’s School in Uttarakhand and completed her graduation with Economics honours at Ramjas College in Delhi. She has been associated with various NGOs in the education sector.

Her mother Sudha Rani Verma, who runs a degree college in Barabanki, said that although Shreya had been actively involved in student politics, she had never contested any elections before. Sudha said, “Shreya assists me in the administrative work of the college.”

Shreya’s father Rakesh Kumar Verma is also an SP leader, who had been a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP government during 2012-17. Rakesh Kumar lost the 2022 Assembly elections from Barabanki’s Kursi to the BJP’s Sakendra Pratap by just 520 votes.

Following in the footsteps of her grandfather and father, Shreya joined the SP over two years ago and has been actively participating in party activities since. “She played a vital role in my campaign in the last Assembly elections,” said Rakesh Kumar, adding that she got married to a businessman last year.

Rakesh Kumar has been holding meetings with the SP leaders and workers and reaching out to voters in Gonda to mobilise support for his daughter.

Faced with the charge of being an “outsider” from her rivals, Shreya has been highlighting her family’s old connection with Gonda, pledging her commitment to the socialist ideology championed by Beni Prasad and her party.

Beni Prasad, who had been once considered number 2 in the SP after Mulayam, passed away in March 2020. Barring the 2009 elections, he had won all his Lok Sabha polls from the Kaiserganj seat, which is now represented by BJP strongman Brij Bhushan Saran Singh, the controversial former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief.

The SP’s Barabanki district president A Ahmed said Beni Prasad never contested any Lok Sabha election from Barabanki as it is a reserved seat.

No other party has declared its candidate from the Gonda seat so far, with the constituency being currently represented by the BJP’s Kirti Vardhan Singh, who was earlier with the SP. Kirti is likely to be renominated by the BJP for the upcoming polls.

Gonda is also considered a stronghold of Brij Bhushan Saran Singh whose constituency Kaiserganj falls under the neighbouring Bahraich district.

In her campaign, Shreya has been raising issues like unemployment, price rise and those concerning women. (Express)

Barely 50 kms away from Ayodhya, Gonda is also likely to witness the impact of the Ram Temple issue which the BJP is set to use as its key plank in the polls. The Temple was consecrated on January 22.

During her interactions with the residents of Gonda, Shreya acknowledges the significance of the Temple, stressing that Lord Ram holds a special place in everyone’s heart.

In her campaign, Shreya has been raising issues like unemployment, price rise and those concerning women. She has been underscoring the significance of education, emphasising that everyone should have access to it. “My election campaign is going on in full swing,” she says.

Rakesh Kumar says, “Our party’s plank in the election is PDA [Picchde (backward classes or OBCs), Dalits, and Alpsankhyak (minorities)].”

The Gonda parliamentary seat, which has about 13 lakh voters, comprises five Assembly segments – Gonda Sadar, Mehnaun, Utraula, Mankapur and Gaura. In the 2022 Assembly polls, all these seats were won by the BJP candidates.

While Gonda Sadar, Utraula and Mehnaun have a significant number of the Muslim and Kurmi voters, Mankapur and Gaura have a sizeable number of Kurmis.

The SP leaders exude optimism that the Muslim and Kurmi voters would “strongly support” Shreya’s candidature.

The SP’s Gonda district president Arshad Hussain said if the voting takes place as per the party’s strategy then “Shreya’s win is certain”. He said in Sreya’s campaign the party has also been highlighting the development work carried out in Gonda during the Beni Prasad period.