Jaswantnagar (Etawah): If he is looking for sympathy, it is there for him in ample measure.
At every meeting Shivpal Yadav says “Yeh chunav nahin, dharm yudh hai. Mera samman aap ke haath mein hai. Aap sab jante hain ki main kin halaat se guzar raha hoon”, people clap furiously as cries of “Shivpal tum sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hai” rent the air.
When talks of the humiliation that Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) has faced, the elderly turn teary-eyed. “I am not at all worried about how I have been treated but till my last breath, I will neither leave Netaji and nor will I tolerate his humiliation,” said Mr Shivpal, who is seeking his fifth term in the state Assembly, in an emotional tone and moves on to his next meeting.
Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav campaigned, on Monday, for the second time in a week for Mr Shivpal in his constituency. “I am proud of my brother. He has fulfilled his duty as brother with utmost sincerity. I want you to vote for him so that he has a record breaking victory,” the party patriarch said.
The chatter at a wayside tea stall in Nagla Bahadur village focuses on events that have torn apart the Samajwadi Party and the Yadav family.
“Netaji was betrayed by his own son. Akhilesh should have waited for a smoother transition of power. After all, he is the son to whom Netaji gave his own chief ministership,” says Ram Avatar Yadav, 65, a farmer.
Ravish Tiwari, a young salesman, tries to get into the conversation by saying, “But Akhilesh is far more popular and acceptable today. The party is identified by his name.”
Kiranpal, another elderly, immediately ridicules the young man and tells him, “Yeh dekho, yahi hai aaj kal ke ladke. When these boys grow old, they will realise what was wrong and what was right. Go and pray that your son does not treat you the way Netaji has been treated.”
The message is clear in this constituency that has been nurtured for decades by Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and then his younger brother Mr Shivpal Yadav.
The elderly voters, irrespective of caste, have their sympathies for Mr Mulayam Singh and their votes for Shivpal. The young ones are rooting for Mr Akhilesh Yadav but since the SP has only one candidate (Shivpal) they will vote for him.
Added to this is the fact that BSP president Mayawati has also been extending her sympathies for Shivpal Yadav and the way he has been treated.
S.K. Tripathi, a local journalist, explains, “In Jaswantnagar, there is no other party except the Samajwadi Party. The Yadav family has always been seen as one family but people are pained after the recent war in the family. Mulayam Singh and Shivpal Yadav have maintained their emotional connect with the people and Shivpal knows most of them by name. Akhilesh left Sefai for his studies and when he joined politics, his visits became fewer. He comes only for family functions and festivals. People can’t think of voting for anyone other than the Yadav family”.
The Yadav homes in Sefai villages are open to the public. “When I am here, people can come and walk into my home at any hour. I am always available for them. When Netaji is here, people throng him home and discuss all issues under the sun with him,” says Mr Shivpal.
Mr Mulayam has campaigned for two days for his younger brother and has told the people that Mr Shivpal’s election is very crucial. Though he has avoided taking the name of Mr Akhilesh, the pain that he suffered in recent months, is more than evident when he says, “Abki Shivpal ko jita dena—iska jitna mere liye bahut zaroori hai”.
