Aligarh Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Will BJP’s Satish Kumar Gautam Score a Hat-trick?

Aligarh Lok Sabha constituency is one of 80 parliamentary constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. This is a General category seat and comprises part of Aligarh district. There are five Assembly segments that fall under the Aligarh Lok Sabha constituency, all held by the BJP at present — Khair (SC), Barauli, Atrauli, Koil, and Aligarh. The constituency voted in the second phase of general elections on April 26, 2024.

Sitting MP – Satish Kumar Gautam (BJP)

Candidates – Satish Kumar Gautam (BJP), Brijendra Singh (Samajwadi Party)

Political dynamics

• BJP: Gunning for a hat-trick in Aligarh is sitting BJP MP Satish Kumar Gautam who has been given the party ticket again.
• In 2014, Gautam had wrested the seat from the BSP, beating its candidate Arvind Kumar Singh by over 2 lakh votes.
• In 2019, he saw off strong anti-incumbency and anger from traders to win a second consecutive term.
• Gautam had then defeated Ajeet Baliyan of the BSP and Bijendra Singh of the Congress to retain his seat.
• The BJP MP is no stranger to controversies. In 2018, he was at the centre of a raging row over Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s portrait at the distinguished Aligarh Muslim University.
• In May of that year, Satish Gautam had demanded that the portrait of Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, be removed from AMU student union office where it had been up for decades. Violent protests had ensued.
• The saffron party has to do at least as well in these elections as the last time in Uttar Pradesh to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of winning 370 seats in the new Parliament.
• PM Modi’s candidature from Varanasi has a major impact on other UP constituencies as well.
• The new Ram Temple in Ayodhya strengthens the party’s Hindutva plank, a factor it can bank on for Hindu consolidation in Muslim-dominated seats like Aligarh.
• The BJP will cash in on the perception that the Yogi Adityanath government has “zero tolerance” towards crime.
• Development of infrastructure, particularly highways and airports, in recent years improves the BJP’s prospects.
• Samajwadi Party: The Samajwadi Party has nominated Bijendra Singh from Aligarh to challenge sitting BJP MP Satish Gautam.
• The SP and the Congress are contesting the polls as part of the INDIA bloc this time, with the grand old party attempting to regain its lost ground in Uttar Pradesh.
• In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the alliance of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal had achieved considerable success in the Muslim-dominated seats. However, the political equations have completely changed this time with the BSP flying solo and the RLD aligning with the BJP.
• Among the factors working for the SP is its strong base in the OBC and Muslim communities.
• The Yadav family, too, appears to have buried its differences in recent years and has put forward a united front.
• The party, however, faces the accusation of being partial to Muslims and harbouring “criminals” within its ranks.
• Its recently forged alliance with the Congress could help avoid splitting of votes, particularly within the Muslim community, in several western UP constituencies like Aligarh.
• BSP: The Mayawati-led party has decided to contest the general elections alone this time.
• From Aligarh, it has fielded Hitendra Kumar alias Bunty Upadhyay.
• Bunty Upadhyay was the party’s second choice for the seat. It had first fielded Gufran Noor from the constituency but the former AIMIM leader suffered a heart attack on March 31 and was taken out of the race.
• Despite a bad showing in the past few elections, the party enjoys an enviable support base among Dalit voters.
• The BSP, however, relies heavily on Mayawati as its leader, with virtually no second rung of leadership.
• Dismal performance in the 2022 Assembly elections, its dwindling presence in Parliament and the state legislature has also demoralised party workers.
• Depending on its performance, the BSP has a chance of striking a post-poll understanding with the winning party or coalition.
• Caste and community factors: Brahmins, Vaishya and Chatriya together make up over 7 lakh of the 18 lakh-plus voters in Aligarh.
• BJP candidate Satish Kumar Gautam has a strong Brahmin voter base in the constituency.
• There are over 3.5 lakh Muslims voters in Aligarh, while Jat, Yadav and Lodi account for over 4 lakh.
• Around 3.50 lakh voters belong to SC/ST communities.
• Muslim votes: Muslim voters constitute over 19% of the electoral population in Aligarh, a lock-making hub in western Uttar Pradesh.
• In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP got the benefit of a split in Muslim votes in some seats of western UP, and its candidates registered wins in Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, Meerut, Bulandshahr, and Baghpat seats.
• In the changed circumstances, the biggest concern for the SP-Congress alliance will be to prevent the scattering of Muslim votes because its victory on many Muslim-dominated seats can be possible only if the Muslim votes are united in its favour.
• That could be a challenge for the SP since it has not been seen as vocal on Muslim-related issues as was expected from it.
• BSP, meanwhile, has fielded Muslim candidates on every seat, where the Dalit voters are in good numbers after the Muslims.
• Samajwadi Party spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan claims that Muslim voters are still standing strongly with his party.
• He maintains that in the 2019 elections, the BSP had benefited from the Muslim votes of SP due to which it was successful in winning 10 seats.
• He points out that there was no alliance between the two parties in the 2022 Assembly elections and the SP had won many Muslim-dominated seats in western Uttar Pradesh by defeating the BSP. Hence, it is not right to say that Muslim voters are getting disillusioned with the SP, he adds.
• The BJP has not put up any Muslim candidate this time in western UP while the SP and BSP have fielded several Muslims.
• Quirky Independent candidate: Independent candidate from Aligarh, Pandit Keshav Dev, decided to make the most of what the Election Commission has allotted to him as the poll symbol — a pair of slippers.
• Aiming to build recall among the people, Dev was seen sporting a garland of seven slippers around his neck during campaigning.

Key constituency issues

• AMU minority status: The issue of Aligarh Muslim University’s minority status has been caught in a legal maze for the last several decades.
• The top court had on February 12, 2019 referred to a seven-judge bench the contentious issue. A similar reference was also made in 1981.
• A five-judge constitution bench had in the S Azeez Basha versus Union of India case in 1967 held that since AMU was a central university, it cannot be considered a minority institution.
• However, the fabled institution got back its minority status when Parliament passed the AMU (Amendment) Act in 1981.
• In January 2006, the Allahabad High Court struck down the provision of the 1981 law by which the university was accorded the minority status.
• The Congress-led UPA government at the Centre moved in appeal against the Allahabad High Court order. The university also filed a separate petition against it.
• The NDA government spearheaded by the BJP told the Supreme Court in 2016 that it will withdraw the appeal filed by the erstwhile UPA dispensation.
• It had cited the apex court’s 1967 judgement in the Basha case to claim that AMU was not a minority institution since it was a central university funded by the government.
• On February 1 this year, the Supreme Court reserved its verdict after days of heated debate.
• Communal tensions: Aligarh is considered to be a communally sensitive district, especially when it comes to student politics at the AMU.
• In March this year, a section of Aligarh Muslim University students boycotted classes over a row around Holi celebration on campus.
• AMU spokesman Omar Peerzada told PTI that “a false narrative” was being spread by some misguided elements that AMU authorities prevented holding of Holi celebrations on the campus.
• Adit Pratap Singh, the student who had sought permission for holding a special Holi Milan, said he was confronted by some “radical elements” over his Holi celebration request.
• CAA: In a big pre-poll move, the rules for the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 were notified in March, four years after the contentious law was passed by Parliament to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.
• The CAA is a huge factor in Muslim-dominated constituencies across western Uttar Pradesh, including Aligarh.
• Top central government ministers and senior BJP leaders have been reiterating during campaigning that no Muslim living in India will lose their citizenship.
• BJP ministers and leaders have accused the opposition parties of creating confusion in the community about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
• Ram Mandir: Eyeing Hindu consolidation in Muslim-dominated western UP, the BJP has been hoping to reap the electoral dividend of constructing the Ram Temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi in UP’s Ayodhya as it has been promising in multiple manifestos.
• It is also reminding voters that the Congress “snubbed” the consecration ceremony of the temple in January, pegging it as an insult of Lord Ram himself.
• Uniform Civil Code: After abolishing special status for J&K in 2019 and constructing the Ram Temple in Ayodhya this January, the BJP has turned its attention to its third legacy election promise — a Uniform Civil Code.
• In April last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself made a strong pitch for UCC, saying the Constitution also mentions of having equal rights for all citizens.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah too recently reminded voters of PM Modi’s “guarantee” to bring uniform civil code in the country on the same lines as Uttarakhand.
• In April 2022, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had revealed that the Yogi Adityanath government is thinking seriously in the direction of implementing a Uniform Civil Code in the state.
• During the Assembly election campaign in 2022, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, too, had also spoken in favour of one law for the entire country and had said the matter would be taken up at the right time.
• With neighbouring Uttarakhand implementing one in March this year, the prospect of a UCC for Uttar Pradesh has become a factor in Lok Sabha elections, especially in minority-dominated constituencies.
• The issue of the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code does not enjoy the Opposition support besides that of Muslim bodies.
• Statehood for Western UP: BSP supremo Mayawati has said her party will take “concrete steps” to make western Uttar Pradesh a separate state if voted to power at the Centre.

Voter demographics

Social composition

SC — 20.6%

ST — 0%

Religious composition

Buddhist — 0.07%

Christian — 0.21%

Jain — 0.08%

Muslim — 19.85%

Sikh — 0.16%

Literacy rate

56.96%

Major infra projects in Aligarh

• Aligarh Smart City Limited: The Aligarh Smart City Limited (ASCL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for Aligarh Smart City Project, has been incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 2013. The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a light house to other aspiring cities. Aligarh is one of the 13 Smart Cities identified in Uttar Pradesh out of 100 in India.
• Aligarh Airport: On March 10 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Aligarh airport along with airports in Azamgarh, Shravasti, and Chitrakoot.
• The Aligarh Dhanipur Airport reportedly spans 69.28 acres, with a terminal building covering 1250 square meters.
• The project is estimated to cost Rs 29.40 crore.
• BJP’s Aligarh unit had appealed for the airport to be named after party veteran Kalyan Singh who had died in August 2021.
• Expansion of Noida Airport Project Area: In October 2023, the Uttar Pradesh government announced that the Noida International Airport project area will be expanded by 1,200 hectares, extending the airport’s boundary to the Aligarh district.
• The land between the airport area and Aligarh’s Logistics Park will be acquired from six villages – Ahmadpur Choroli, Mangaroli, Sadullapur, Bhavokra, Alabalpur, and Dyouar.
• Ghaziabad-Aligarh Expressway: In May last year, the Ghaziabad-Aligarh Expressway made history by laying of bituminous concrete over a distance of 100 lane kilometres in an unprecedented time of 100 hours.
• The Ghaziabad-Aligarh section of NH34, spanning 118km, plays a vital role as a transportation link between the densely populated regions of Ghaziabad and Aligarh.
• The project traverses various towns and cities in Uttar Pradesh, including Dadri, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Sikandrabad, Bulandshahr, and Khurja.
• It serves as a critical trade route, facilitating the movement of goods and contributing to regional economic development by connecting industrial areas, agricultural regions, and educational institutions.
• The innovative green technology involves utilizing 90% of the milled material, which amounts to nearly 20 lakh square meters of road surface.
• Consequently, the consumption of virgin materials is been reduced to a mere 10 per cent.
• Kanpur-Aligarh Four-Lane Highway: The four-lane highway linking Aligarh with Kannauj is part of the 284-kilometer GT Road (NH-91) project from Kanpur-IIT gate to Aligarh. The project aims to reduce the travel time between Delhi and Kanpur by around 90km. The work began in 2019. The project is divided into five sections, with the fourth section running from Naviganj in Mainpuri to Mitrasen in Kannauj. The construction of this road will improve traffic between Naviganj, Kannauj, Mitrasenpur, and Delhi. It will also boost economic development in Kannauj and the surrounding areas, and provide easier transport for farmers to Chhibramau and Naviganj Mandi.
• Aligarh-Palwal Highway: This is a national highway that connects three states and the Uttar Pradesh border to Delhi-NCR. The highway’s two-lane bridge over the Yamuna River was built during the British rule. The road and highways ministry is working on a project to widen the Aligarh-Palwal section of NH-334D to improve connectivity between the two districts. The project aims to benefit traffic to the Jewar Airport and provide better connectivity with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also floated a tender for four-laning the Aligarh Palwal section from Km.0.00 (starting from the junction of Nh-34 Aligarh).
• Aligarh-Harduaganj Flyover: On March 25, 2020, the Union Cabinet had approved the construction of a 22-kilometer railway flyover between Aligarh and Harduaganj in Uttar Pradesh. The project is expected to be completed by 2024–2025 at a cost of over Rs 1,285 crore. The flyover will pass through 20 villages and require the acquisition of 114 hectares of land.
• Vande Bharat: The special high-speed trains rolled into Aligarh in December last year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat Express trains between Varanasi and New Delhi.
• The train was touted to have superior passenger amenities, a GPS-based passenger information system, bio-vacuum toilets with touch-free conveniences, diffused LED lights, charging points beneath every seat, concealed roller blinds, and individual touch-based reading lights.
• The train also has better heat ventilation and air-conditioning.
• “The intelligent AC system comes with a UV lamp that helps in germ-free supply of air and adjusts the cooling according to the climate conditions/occupancy,” Northern Railways said.
• Among the stops between New and Varanasi are Aligarh, Prayagraj, Kanpur Central, Itawa, and Tundla.

Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.