Meerut, April 7
There was a time when non-Congress parties without exception used to corner the Congress for pursuing dynastic politics but now no single party appears to be above charge.
The charge of dynastic politics is evident and glaring in this region as in six out of 10 districts going for poll in the second phase members of one political clan or the other is in the electoral fray.
Chaudhary Charan Singh’s gave is political mantle to his son Ajit Singh while he was alive. Now Ajit Singh has brought his son Jayant Chaudhary into the political arena. Jayant, who is campaigning for the Rashtriya Lok Dal candidates in Western Uttar Pradesh, is said to planning to contest the Lok Sabha election from Mathura.
The BJP, which was most vocal against the dynastic politics of the Nehru-Gandhi family, is no exception to this syndrome. Party’s chief ministerial candidate and former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh’s son and daughter-in-law namely Rajvir Singh alias Raju Bhaia and Premlata Verma are in the electoral arena from Debai and Atrauli.
Premalata has been fielded so that the seat can be vacated in case Kalyan Singh has to contest after becoming the Chief Minister, a BJP worker Ram Sanehi said and defended the party’s decision to field her.
In Meerut, offsprings of two political families are dominating he scene. When former UP Minister Abdul Halim retired from active politics, his son Pervez Halim took over from him and now he is contesting the present election on a RLD ticket from Kithore where he is being challenged by the son of another political family. Former MLA Manjoor Ahmad’s son Shahid Manzoor, who is a Minister of State of Finance in Mulayam Singh cabinet, is trying to retain his Kithore seat
Haji Yaqoob Quereshi, who is also a Minister in UP government, is the son of a prominent Congress leader Hakimuddin and is contesting from two constituencies of Meerut and Kharkhuda.
Muzzafarnagar’s Lok Sabha MP Munnawar Hasan’s wife Shabnam is in the field from Sardhana and his brother Arshad Hasan is contesting from Kairana. Munnawar Hasan’s father Akhtar Hasan was a MP in 1984.
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Mahendra Singh Tikait’s son Rakesh is also trying his luck from Khatauli to reach Lucknow. RLD’s Lok Sabha Munshiram Pal has fielded his daughter Rachna Pal from Nagina reserved constituency.
The phenomenon has been growing and now it has struck deep roots, a Political Science lecturer Arvind Malik observed. He said, “It is not easy to climb fast on the political ladder as patronage not dedication counts now”.
