Rajnath Singh, India’s Defence Minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) heavyweight candidate, filed his nomination papers on Monday for the Lucknow parliamentary constituency, setting the stage for a high-decibel electoral battle in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh.
Singh, contesting from Lucknow for the third consecutive term, is seeking to maintain the BJP’s iron grip over the seat, which has remained an impregnable saffron bastion since 1991. Voting in the high-profile constituency will take place in the fifth phase on May 20, with the last date for filing nominations being May 3.
The Lucknow seat carries immense significance not only for the BJP but also for Singh personally, as a victory would mark a hat-trick of electoral triumphs from the constituency. His main challengers are Samajwadi Party’s (SP) MLA Ravidaas Mehrotra and Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Sarwar Malik.
Lucknow has been a BJP citadel since the 1991 general elections when former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee secured a resounding victory, defeating the Congress candidate by a massive margin of 117,303 votes. Vajpayee continued his winning streak in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2004, each time increasing his vote share.
After Vajpayee’s retirement from active politics in 2004 due to health reasons, his close aide Lalji Tandon carried forward the BJP’s legacy, winning the seat in 2009 by defeating Congress’ Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
Rajnath Singh first contested from Lucknow in 2014, trouncing Joshi by a staggering 272,749 votes. He replicated his success in 2019, defeating SP’s Poonam Shatrugan Sinha by an even bigger margin of 347,302 votes and garnering 56.64% of the total votes polled.
With the BJP fielding Singh for the third time, the party is hoping to continue its winning streak and maintain its stronghold over the prestigious seat.
The opposition parties, however, are determined to put up a tough fight. The SP and BSP have both fielded strong candidates, banking on anti-incumbency sentiments and local caste dynamics to upset the BJP’s applecart.