Also in UP poll fray: RSVP, KhAP, Insaan Raj Party

Lucknow: With the election just around the corner in Uttar Pradesh, parties with quirky names are making their presence felt.

Huge hoardings with RSVP written on them are staring down prominent crossings in Lucknow. On a closer look, one sees that RSVP is actually an acronym for Rashtriya Shahri Vikas Party, one of the many registered, but unrecognised political parties that have mushroomed in this poll season.

Another attention-catching party is KhAP, or Khaas Aadmi Party, which emerged from Lakhimpur district. “We are inviting all fraudsters and dishonest people to contest as our candidates. This is our way to telling people that politics is not for honest people and they should keep away from it,” says Naresh Singh Bhadauria, the founder of the party.

There are also parties with names like the “Truth, Equality, Justice Applying Service Dal”, which is based in Mathura, the “Bhartiya Imaandar Party” based in Shahjahanpur and the “India Rising Party” based in Kannauj. These parties, with their quirky names, have managed to get their share of the spotlight during election season.

Some, however, are serious and keen to prove a point. One of them is Lal Bihari Mritak, who waged a two-decade-long battle to prove that he was alive after he was fraudulently declared “dead” in revenue records. He is the head of the Mritak Sangh, a quasi political outfit, and will be fielding other “dead” men to prove that they are alive.

“It has been a practice in the rural interiors of the state to declare a person ‘dead’ in revenue records by obtaining fake death certificates and then usurp his property. I had to contest elections, get arrested and wage a battle in court just to prove that I am still alive. I want such people to contest elections and prove their point,” he says.

Another party trying to make a point is called is Aadhi Aabadi Party, that claims to represent the women. The party is based in Lucknow and will be fielding only women candidates. Two decades ago, a party called Mahila Dal had made a similar effort, but did not succeed.

Some other parties with interesting names include “Insaan Raj Party”, “Garib Raj Party” and “Apni Zindagi Apna Dal”. According to the Election Commission, There are about 476 parties that were registered in 2016, and 91 of these are based in Lucknow.

“Most of these outfits come up only for income tax exemptions. Some even ‘sell’ their names and symbols to other political aspirants during election time and make a neat earning. There are no laws to prevent non-serious outfit form contesting polls”, said an EC official.