Once with the SP, Raghuraj Singh Shakya is now the BJP candidate for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, whose bypoll was necessitated by SP Supremo Mulayam Singh's death. In a election sharply divided by caste lines, he explains why he expects to snatch the Samajwadi bastion. Excerpts: Q. Mainpuri is called a “garh” (bastion) of Samajwadi Party (SP). Why you think Yadav-dominated Mainpuri will elect you in this bypoll? A: “Garh” belongs to the public. Public creates a garh and dismantles it when they want to. There is wave of change in Mainpuri. People want the change. Mainpuri public wants a representative who will stay with them. Others (SP leaders) never reached out to the public. I have been MP from Etawah for two consecutive terms. Mainpuri and Etawah are linked. Mainpuri people have their relatives in Etawah and vice-versa. People have no difference. They are aware of me and my nature. This time there will be a historic change in Mainpuri and people will end “parivarvaad” here. Q. You are contesting this election on which issues? A: There was jungleraaj and gundaraj in Mainpuri. The Yogi Adityanath government ensured safety of people by giving a good administration. Public is happy with that. Earlier, land grabbing and misbehavior with common man was frequent in Etawah and Mainpuri. People these days have no such problems under Adityanath's rule. Public is saying that all is well and they will vote for me. When chacha-bhatija (Shivpal Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party) get united again, public understood that. All the castes have got united to ensure victory of BJP. Yadavs and Muslims who were upset with SP, they are with me. People across sections are supporting me. Q. But local people are saying that every development in Mainpuri has been done by SP government and by Mulayam Singh Yadav. Why will they vote for BJP? A: Check the situation in the villages. There are no roads inside villages. When the MP, MLA, block head and pradhan were all of one party (SP), who else would you hold accountable for development? No development has been done inside villages. There is dust all around. Development was done only around Saifai and not in other villages. BJP is taking every section of society along and benefiting them with the welfare schemes. Public will effect the change in Mainpuri like it did in Azamgarh and Rampur. Q. For SP, retaining Mulayam's seat is matter of prestige. In what way is this bypoll important to you? A: I am the son of a farmer. A farmer's son know everything. They (Yadav family) belong to a political raj-gharana, they have huge amounts of money. They are distributing money. I am a farmer's son and touching people's feet. They are ahead of me financially, but Raghuraj Singh Shakya is ahead in touching the feet of the people and seeking their blessings. Q. You have been invoking Mulayam and Shivpal as your political gurus. But today you are contesting against their family. A: I respect Neta ji (Mulayam) today as well. SP was respectable when Neta ji had its control. A person who doesn't respect his elderly father never rises in life. Neta ji's condition deteriorated after he was removed from the party's top position. Woh itna bada neta. Samrajya karne ke baad, unki kya halat kar di? (Such a tall leader. Look at what they did to him after he was removed from the top party post. ) Today you (SP leaders) are invoking his name. I am also his disciple and I will also get his blessings. Ajit Singh was Chaudhary Charan Singh's son. But who inherited his political legacy? Mulayam Singh, not Ajit Singh. Because Mulayam worked among the people. Whosoever will work among the people for their service will inherit the legacy (of Mulayam). I am working for the service of the people. Rest people will decide on December 5 (polling date). Others too have the right to win here. Why did SP leadership not give ticket to any Yadav outside their family? Why was the ticket given to the wife of the party president and not to Tej Pratap Singh Yadav (Mulayam's grand nephew, who won the 2014 by-poll). Q. There are over one lakh more Yadavs than Shakyas in Mainpuri. In elections, SP has always led the BJP by a big margin here. How will you make that up? A: Neta ji won in 2019 with a margin of 93,000 votes, that too when SP had an alliance with BSP. BJP's Prem Singh Shakya had got over 4.31 lakh votes. Today SP has no alliance with BSP. Neta ji ka mamla alag tha. (Mulayam's candidature was different). Today the public have enthusiasm for BJP and they want change. BJP will win with a margin of several lakh votes. Q. Is the absence of the BSP in the bypoll an advantage for BJP? A: BSP's Dalit voters were harassed by SP. Those Dalits are happy at present (in BJP rule). SP is buying their votes. But how many will they buy? I have come from the SP. Don't I know what they used to do? They did not let voters of BJP and other parties to cast vote. They did booth capturing. Today, they are worried because voters are free to cast votes. That is why they (SP) leaders are reaching out to every door. In past elections SP leaders addressed only one public meeting and left. They are anxious this time because they will not be able to capture votes and public will freely cast vote against them. Q. You have switched over from the ideology of SP to BJP. Why should the public—particularly Yadavs-trust you? A: Yadavs are supporting me and the elderly among them are giving me blessings. They have asked me to see the results on December 8. SP in its government harassed Yadavs too, and will have to face the consequences of that at present. Public is with me.
