BJP banks on ex-PM's legacy, son's influence in battle of Ballia

Former PM Chandra Shekhar's son Neeraj Shekhar, who is in the fray from Ballia as the BJP's nominee, is trying hard to strike a balance between his father's deep socialist roots and his party's nationalist leanings.

The late Chandra Shekhar, one of the tallest post-independence leaders and a socialist stalwart, was elected to the Lok Sabha for eight terms from Ballia from 1977.

This is for the first time Neeraj Shekhar is contesting the seat as the BJP nominee. He was elected from Ballia in the 2007 by-election and 2009 general election on the Samajwadi Party's ticket. "Almost every village has followers of Chandra Shekhar ji. Our candidate Neeraj continues to maintain relations with them. So, they are extra votes for us," UP minister Dayashankar Singh, who is the BJP MLA from Ballia Sadar seat, told ET at Jhopari, a house Chandra Shekhar had built in Ballia city.

Jhopari now houses BJP's central election office in Ballia constituency, with a portrait of the late PM placed at its entry gate. The locality is named as Chandrashekhar Nagar. This time, Neeraj is locked in a direct contest with the SP's Sanatan Pandey, who belongs to the Brahmin community, which has traditionally been among the core supporters of the BJP. In 2019, Pandey was defeated by the sitting MP Virendra Singh Mast by about 16,000 votes. The BJP has denied ticket to Mast and selected Neeraj Shekhar as its nominee.

"Unlike 2019, the BSP is not in an alliance with the SP. What adds to our benefit is the presence of Om Prakash Rajbhar-headed SBSP in the NDA. Rajbhar has considerable presence in this constituency, particularly in the Zahoorabad assembly seat which SBSP chief Om Prakash represents," senior BJP leader Sanand Singh told ET. Apart from Zahoorabad, Ballia LS constituency accommodates Mohammadabad, Fefana, Bairiya and Ballia Sadar. In the 2019 polls, the BJP had trailed in both Mohammadabad and Zahoorabad, which fall in the neighbouring Ghazipur district. While Mohammadabad is known as the pocket borough of the Ansari family, there is no dearth of the supporters of the family in neighbouring Zahoorabad either. "Unlike 2019, we hope to take a good lead in both the assembly constituencies - Mohammadabad and Zahoorabad," said the BJP's district unit chief, Sanjay Yadav.

The absence of controversial Mukhtar Ansari, who died in a jail in UP, may impact the political situation in Ballia. Ansari enjoyed political influence in both Mohammadabad and Zahoorabad seats. Suhaib Ansari, son of Mukhtar's brother and former MLA Sibghatullah Ansari, currently represents Mohammadabad in state assembly. The BJP has focused on ensuring it does well in Mohammadabad. Apart from its candidate Neeraj Shekhar's campaign, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has held an election meeting here and the BJP's former MLA Alka Rai, wife of late MLA Krishnanand Rai, is regularly touring the area. On the other hand, the SP has sought to woo different small caste-groups among most backward castes. The party has tasked its senior leader Lalita Prasad Bind with camping in Ballia and wooing Bind voters. Babu Singh Kushwaha, who is contesting from Jaunpur as SP nominee, has also campaigned in Ballia. "SP has deployed Mithai Lal Bharti, who is chief of the party's Ambedkar Wahini, to woo SC voters in this seat," said Alok Yadav, who was present in SP's office in Ballia.

In Fefana town, a retired teacher Shyam Narayan Ram said, unlike in the past, SC voters are not united in favour of any party. "Although a major part of the SC votes will go to the BSP, SP and BJP have almost become a sharer in this vote-bank," he told ET.