UP gets new generation of leaders in civic polls

The recently-concluded panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh have thrown up a new generation of leaders belonging to families of politicians, mainly from the ruling party.

Majority of the ministers and legislators in the Samajwadi Party have used the panchayat elections as a launch pad for their sons, daughters, daughters-in-law, nephews, nieces, and even wives and brothers in some cases.

“The panchayat elections are a perfect training ground for politics. The leaders learn how to deal with the public, understand their problems and also build their base at the grassroots level. Once a person learns the ropes in panchayat working, it becomes easier for him or her to contest the assembly polls,” admitted a minister.

The brothers of UP ministers Arvind Singh Gope And Raj Kishore Singh are among the winners in the panchayat polls while minister Vinod Singh “Pandit” got his sister-in-law elected despite tough competition from a relative of BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

UP minister Manoj Pandey managed to ensure the victory of his sister-in-law while another minister Brahma Shankar Tripathi’s son also emerged victorious.

The other ministers whose relatives have reached the winning post include Mehbood Ali’s son, Parasnath Yadav’s wife, two sons and a daughter-in-law, Ram Karan Arya’s daughter and Papu Nishad’s brother. More than three dozen legislators belonging to the Samajwadi Party have also got their relatives elected to various posts at the panchayat level.

The relatives of established politicians, interestingly, have mostly been elected unopposed or through lottery system.

An official in the state election commission admitted that majority of the women elected in the panchayat polls are related to one political family or another.

“Cases were women have contested and won the elections without any political support are few and far in between. But this result cannot be termed as an empowerment of women — it is, in fact, further empowerment of politicians who will continue to enjoy the perks of power even if they lose the next Assembly election,” he explained.

State BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai, meanwhile, alleged that the ruling Samajwadi Party has misused government machinery to ensure the elections of their candidates — majority being relatives of their leaders.

“Votes were declared invalid, lottery system was used to advantage and voters were kidnapped,” he said.

Congress MLA Akhilesh Pratap Singh said that the panchayat elections were a “family affair” for the Samajwadi Party.