Team Shivpal names Raghuraj Shakya as one such leader who after being denied SP ticket has been working to transfer 'shakya' votes to BSP.
elections he was here for just three days for campaigning...
voters have remained faithful to him all through," said a leader assisting Shivpal in the campaign.
Some others who have been sidelined by the new regime in the party or have been denied party ticket are also siding with Shivpal on this seat, though they have expressed their loyalties elsewhere.
Team Shivpal names Raghuraj Shakya as one such leader who after being denied SP ticket has been working to transfer 'shakya' votes to BSP.
But on Jaswantnagar seat, he is with Shivpal and wants him to win by a maximum margin to prove a point to detractors in the party.
Shivpal's predicament is that he cannot even speak against Akhilesh in public as he has been fielded by the party nor can he praise him, his supporters said.
"It is a catch-22 situation for him," said Amar Yadav, a youth toiling hard for Shivpal, who had threatened to form a new party after the elections on the day of filing his nomination.
Locals understand that it was his anger but disgruntled elements in the SP rank and file read a meaning in it for the future.
Shivpal loyalists believe that whichever way he chooses, he will be with his elder brother Mulayam.
The constituency comprises 1,64,333 women, 2,01,187 men and 15 belonging to third gender category.
The constituency has a large number of youths, who look to be siding with Akhilesh but still rush to touch his feet whereever he goes.
Shivpal's support base in spread to other castes and sections of society including Bania, Kashyap, Jatwas as well as Yadavs and Muslims who credit him with construcing roads, drains, irrigation facilities, water supply and power connectivity as MLA and minister.
Moving about in the vast hinterland to interact with his electorate, Shivpal recalls the works undertaken as the PWD (Public Works Department) and Irrigation minister before he was dumped by Akhilesh.
His hurt feelings sometimes come to the fore with queries like, "Did I do anything wrong?" or assertions like, "I could have done more had I continued till the last." He, however, follows the party line in attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for forcing people to stand in long queues after note ban, failure to fulfil promises and create jobs and promises to further develop the area if elected once again.
His opponents, however, attack SP on law and order front and stress that goons have been ruling the roost throughout the last five years of Akhilesh government.
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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