Chandrasekhar's legacy under siege in Ballia; BJP to strongly contest against son Neeraj Shekhar

BALLIA: For the first time in many decades, a legacy is under threat. Till former Prime Minister Chandrasekhar was alive, opposition parties would invariably field a lightweight against him in Ballia in Uttar Pradesh. His youngest son Neeraj Sekhar won using his father's name twice. But in its pursuit of 272+, the Bhartiya Janata Party is in no mood to make any concession. It has fielded Bharat Singh, a former RSS pracharak to contest against the Sekhar scion in Ballia.

Neeraj Sekhar as the Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate is battling a melange of odds, natural and manmade. Faced with the double wrath of Ganga and Ghaggra rivers that eats into farms, homes and the sheer existence of farmers, Neeraj has few answers to offer.

He is invoking his father's legacy and getting his wife Sushma Sekhar to do his bidding. She vows to take a greater interest in constituency matters in the future.

The narrow BST Bandh road divides Ballia and lends it its peculiar character. On the east is Sitabdiyara, part of Chapra Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar, and on the west are Jayprakash Nagar and Korhara, parts of Ballia.

There is a constant comparison with Bihar and what it has done to battle floods and provide education and electricity to its people. Farmers have land in both Bihar and UP spread over three districts. For farm-related issues, peasants of Rivilganj division go to Chapra, those in Barhara go to Ara and the farmers of Barhara to Ballia. But they are all registered voters in Ballia.

Ballia is one of the few eastern UP constituencies where Modi matters. From Amit Shah to Murli Manohar Joshi, all BJP leaders have campaigned here and RSS is canvassing for its former cadre. Congress' Sudha Rai, widow of late Kalpnath Rai, is in the fray as an inconsequential candidate.

It is Afzal Ansari of Quami Ekta Dal (QED) and Tunji Pathak of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) who have made the battle of Ballia interesting. Raghav Singh, a supporter of Neeraj Sekhar, says, "SP will get the support of rajputs, yadavs and a section of Muslims. The fight is close but we will sail through."

Raghav says, "Unlike the children of other politicians, our leader believes in working for the people. Chandrasekharji is remembered fondly by the people here. Never before has caste been invoked here."

He admits that if, like many eastern UP constituencies, Ballia also votes through the prism of caste, it could be a tough battle and the legacy is the only hope for Neeraj Sekhar.