BJP-SP's reputation tarnished on the seat which was a bastion of BSP
Ambedkar Nagar is an important Lok Sabha constituency of Uttar Pradesh. Political activities are at their peak on this seat. It was once considered the stronghold of BSP but in this election the prestige of BJP and SP is also at stake. Ritesh Pandey, who contested on BSP ticket in the 2019 elections, became MP from here by defeating BJP's Mukut Bihari Verma.
Recently, Ritesh left BSP and joined BJP and BJP fielded him. Whereas SP has made six-time MLA and senior leader Lalji Verma its candidate from this seat. Lalji Verma is said to have good penetration among backward class voters. It is being said that with the arrival of Lalji, the influence of two political families on this seat is at stake.
Ritesh Pandey's family holds a strong position in the politics of Ambedkar Nagar. His father Rakesh Pandey, fighting from BSP, defeated BJP's fire brand leader Vinay Katiyar in the 2009 elections. Rakesh Pandey is currently an MLA from SP.
This seat became a stronghold of BSP in the 90s. This citadel collapsed in 2012. Since then the countdown for BSP had started. Ambedkar Nagar district was created on 29 September 1995. The district was established by the then Chief Minister Mayawati. Mayawati had fulfilled the years-old demand of the residents of the area of present Ambedkar Nagar district.
The people of Ambedkarnagar district, who were followers of BSP chief Mayawati, gave the parliamentary seat to BSP in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections. The blue flag of BSP was hoisted on the parliamentary seat. Ghanshyam Chandra Kharwar was elected MP. Exactly two years later, BSP chief Mayawati was elected MP. Mayawati had reached Lok Sabha from Ambedkar Nagar district for the first time in 1998 and also for the second time in 1999.
After this, in 2004 also the voters of the district sent Mayawati to Parliament. The vote graph of BSP kept increasing election after election. BSP made a clean sweep in the 2007 assembly elections. From the parliamentary seat of the district to all the five assemblies and the chair of the District Panchayat President, BSP had captured it.
The politics of this district, which had become an impregnable fort for BSP, changed in 2012. Samajwadi Party made a spectacular entry in the assembly elections held this year. The defeat of BSP has begun. BSP fort started collapsing. In the 2012 assembly elections, SP captured all five seats of the district namely Katehari, Tanda, Alapur, Jalalpur and Akbarpur. For the first time in more than one and a half decade, BSP was swept in the assembly elections.
SP made a clean sweep. Only one Lok Sabha seat was left in BSP's account. BJP snatched it away in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. In that election, BJP's Hariom Pandey defeated SP candidate Ram Murti Verma. Now it was believed that the era of Bahujan Samaj Party was over, but with the victory of BSP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, new equations started forming. In this election, BSP's Ritesh Pandey defeated BJP's Mukut Bihari Verma.
There are more than 18 lakh 50 thousand voters in Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha constituency. It is believed that these include about 4 lakh Dalit voters, three lakh 70 thousand Muslims, more than 1 lakh 78 thousand Kurmi, 1 lakh 70 thousand Yadavs, about 1 lakh 35 thousand Brahmins, about one lakh Thakur voters. The rest are voters of other castes. The silence of Thakur voters in the 2024 elections remains a cause of concern for the BJP.