In May 2018, the Lok Sabha seat of Kairana and the Assembly constituency of Noorpur, both in communally-sensitive western Uttar Pradesh, we...
In May 2018, the Lok Sabha seat of Kairana and the Assembly constituency of Noorpur, both in communally-sensitive western Uttar Pradesh, were up for bye-polls. The two incumbents had died mid-term.
In a charged speech during a campaign tour days before the elections, Chief Minister Adityanath hit out at the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. “[He] doesn’t have the courage to come here and campaign. His hands are stained with the blood of Muzaffarnagar riot victims,” he said, referring to the communal clashes in the area in 2013 that had left over 60 dead.
The Samajwadi Party was contesting the Noorpur seat and was backing the Rashtriya Lok Dal, a western Uttar Pradesh-centric party, in Kairana.
Adityanath’s comment invoked a sharp reaction among the cadres of the Samajwadi Party, according to a senior party leader closely associated with the campaign. “Initially, we thought he [Akhilesh Yadav] should respond by going to Noorpur,” said the leader.
But Yadav did not go to either place. This despite the fact that the Rashtriya Lok Dal had previously announced the former chief minister as one of their “star campaigners”.
Yadav’s absence was deliberate, said the Samajwadi Party leader. “We had the RLD with us,” he said, implying that the party was confident...
