Discussions are being held to field Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge from Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. To woo Dalit voters, Congress can field Kharge from Gulbarga in Karnataka as well as Etawah or Barabanki seat in UP. Even though Etawah is considered a strong stronghold of Samajwadi Party today, Congress has a deep connection with Etawah. This relationship of Congress with Etawah is not from today but from the time of its foundation. Not only this, Etawah has also been the laboratory of Dalit politics.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram had reached Parliament for the first time by winning from Etawah. This is the reason why Mallikarjun Kharge is being considered to contest elections from Etawah seat so that many political equations can be solved simultaneously. The strategy of Kharge contesting from Etawah Lok Sabha seat was not made suddenly but planning was done after the results of Karnataka Assembly elections.
The plan had come 2 months ago
Two months ago, Etawah Congress District President Malkhan Singh Yadav, on behalf of the District Congress Committee, had written a letter to the top leadership of the party, in which it was said that Etawah has been associated with the Congress since its inception and for a long time. The party has had a good political base here for a long time.
In such a situation, the Congress party should field one of its big leaders from the Etawah seat so that the party can become strong again. From here, the discussion about Mallikarjun Kharge contesting from Etawah seat of UP intensified and now both Congress and opposition alliance INDIA have started thinking in this direction.
Etawah is the foundation of Congress
Congress Party has been associated with Etawah since its inception. Congress was established on 28 December 1885 during the British Raj. British officer AO Hume played an important role in the establishment of Congress. Born in England, Hume was one of the founding members of the Congress. During the British Raj, Hume was posted in Etawah, India under the Civil Service. He remained on the post of administrator in Etawah for a long time. Etawah was the most affected district during the revolution of 1857. Hume had to stay in hiding for several days to save his life. Even after this, he did a lot of work in the education and health sectors.
Hume had criticized the revenue policy while opposing the wrong policies of the British government. He also distributed pamphlets titled 'Agricultural Reform in India' in 1879. In 1883, he wrote a letter addressed to the enlightened people of Calcutta in which he also appealed to the people to be aware. Only after this, the Indian National Congress was established on 28 December 1985 in GT Sanskrit College, Bombay. AO Hume was the only British among the 72 founding members of the Congress and became the first General Secretary of the Congress. By erasing the black-white distinction between Europeans and Indians, they brought everyone together on one platform.
Effort to establish legacy
It is believed that AO Hume also acted as a link between the British and the Indians and played an important role in giving the Indians their rights. After this, the influence of Congress started increasing and the British government started accepting Hume's suggestions. Later, Congress also played an important role in India's freedom struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Even today in Etawah, there is a locality named after AO Hume, who laid the foundation of Congress, which is called Humeganj. In this way Congress has a deep connection with Etawah. Now Congress is trying to establish the same legacy again through Kharge.
Mallikarjun Kharge is considered the Dalit face of Congress. Mayawati is continuously becoming weak in the politics of UP and BSP's vote bank is being eroded by the Dalit community. In such a situation, Congress is trying to regain the Dalit vote bank in Uttar Pradesh, because before the emergence of BSP, the Dalit community was considered the traditional voters of Congress. In such a situation, Congress is planning to win back the trust of Dalits by removing Kharge from UP, while identifying Etawah seat is being considered as a strategy to strengthen the foundation of Congress.
BJP's plan to stop Vijayrath
Kanshi Ram, who awakened political consciousness among the Dalit community in UP, reached Parliament for the first time by winning from Etawah seat, in which he was helped by SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. Only after this, Dalit-OBC politics gained strength in UP. Mulayam-Kanshi Ram joined hands and defeated BJP by fighting the 1993 elections. After this, BSP made a strong place among the Dalit community, but after 2007, Dalits started becoming disillusioned with Mayawati and it continues till today. BSP has become only a party of Jatav community.
While Mayawati has announced to contest the elections alone in 2024, the opposition alliance INDIA is also making efforts to integrate the Dalit community with itself. Angered by Mayawati not being politically active, the Dalit community may move towards BJP. In this way, the Yogi-Modi factor in UP cannot be stopped without Dalit votes. That is why Kharge is preparing to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from UP and that too from Etawah seat. In this way, Congress wants to bet on Kharge to attract Dalit voters so that BJP's Vijayarath can be stopped and Dalit leadership can also be established in UP politics?
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