BSP-SP has given a clear walk over to Rajnath Singh in Lucknow by pitching Poonam Sinha against him. A new face in politics Poonam Sinha is wife of film star Shatrughan Sinha who has recently joined Congress and was a sitting MP from the Patna Sahib constituency with BJP’s ticket. The fight is already won by the Home Minster who is the BJP candidate for Lucknow.
The fight in Lucknow which could be just about BSP-SP and BJP has a third participant as well, Congress. Despite an appeal made by the alliance, Congress has also pitched Acharya Pramod in Lucknow. While SP is banking big on Sinha and her Kayashth caste background, pitching a new bee against a veteran is a wrong decision by the grand alliance. The idea behind giving the ticket to Poonam Sinha was to woo the Kayashth voters but that would not shift the BJP loyalties in Lucknow. BJP functionary in UP said, “By putting up Sinha, any prospect of a little fight in Lucknow has been finished,”. The functionary has also claimed that the large participation in the road show by Rajnath Singh in Lucknow was a show of his strength.
Choice of SP-BSP of giving ticket to Poonam Sinha in Lucknow makes it evident that the party did not have any strong contestant against Rajnath Singh. It will also be a decent election in Lucknow because Mrs Sinha does not have any attacks to make on Rajnath Singh. She is new in politics and also does not have any hold over the UP political framework.
Sinha is sure to lose to Rajnath Singh. Poonam Sinha is an inexperienced politician and Rajnath with his work for the people of Lucknow has been appreciated by the voters. It is impossible to beat him in Lucknow. Both the Congress and the Samajwadi Party has no chance of winning Lucknow from Singh. The confidence of Rajnath Singh can be seen from the brief comment he made. Rajnath said, “I am your MP and a candidate again. You know me well; I don’t need to say more,”
Only a candidate who is sure of his winning can show such confidence in his candidature. While SP and Congress have proved their weak leadership and hold in the Uttar Pradesh region, contesting with new comers in important constituencies might be a fruitless attempt against BJP. The efforts by BSP-SP will go in vain in Lucknow. Rajnath Singh will be shifting his base in last 5-6 days before polls take place in Lucknow and are sure to sweep away votes like he did in 2014. The belief of voters in Rajnath Singh will help him win the Lucknow seat with a large margin.