Battle for UP: SP candidate seeks blessings from BJP leaders in fight against Yogi

The Gorakhpur election scene took an unusual turn when a photograph of Samajwadi Party candidate Shubhawati Shukla touching the feet of Union Minister Shiv Pratap Shukla was circulated on social media. Shubhawati Shukla is seen taking the blessings of former BJP MP and retired Lieutenant General Prakash Mani Tripathi at his Civil Lines residence in Gorakhpur in another similar photograph.

In local politics, both BJP leaders are known as rivals to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.As the BJP’s candidate in Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath is running. The SP candidate is the widow of late BJP leader and chief minister rival Upendra Dutt Shukla.

Shubhawati and her two sons recently joined the Samajwadi Party, accusing the BJP of failing to care for them after her husband’s death.Shiv Pratap Shukla, a Rajya Sabha MP, is regarded as a powerful Brahmin figure in Purvanchal.

He was Gorakhpur’s MLA in 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1996, but in 2002, Radha Mohan Das Agarwal defeated him on a Hindu Mahasabha ticket with Yogi’s backing and support.The BJP needs Brahmin support in Gorakhpur Urban, which has 19% Brahmins.

In a land known for its legendary Thakur-Brahmin hostility, the SP candidate appears to be attempting to send a message that she has the support of Brahmin leaders.Though the Gorakhpur election results are unsurprising, Shubhawati Shukla is attempting to bridge the schism within the BJP.

It is widely known in this region that Brahmins in the BJP have been marginalised since Yogi Adityanath’s ascension to power.Shubhwati’s strategists are forcing her to exploit the situation. A single photograph says more than a thousand words.

Updated by Deveshi Gupta