BSP plays the ‘Brahmin Card’ in Fatehpur Sikri; contest hots up in BJP’s stronghold

In the rural seat of Agra district—Fatehpur Sikri—a tight contest is unfolding as both the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Congress have declared their candidates. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had already announced its candidate for Fatehpur Sikri and expressed confidence in the incumbent MP.
With the Braj region heading to polls in the second and third phases of the Lok Sabha elections, candidates are yet to be declared for most seats. This time, the BJP has taken the lead in announcing candidates for both the Agra reserved constituency and Fatehpur Sikri (Agra rural).
For the Agra constituency, union minister of state for health and family welfare, Prof SP Singh Baghel, the incumbent MP who won the 2019 parliamentary election as a BJP candidate, has been declared in the first list of BJP candidates.
The BSP has also named Pooja Amrohi, the daughter of former Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Satya Behan, as its candidate for the Agra constituency, often considered the Dalit capital of North India. Compared to other Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP took less time to declare a candidate for the Agra reserved seat.
The Samajwadi Party is yet to declare its candidate Agra seat.
In contrast to the Agra constituency, the contest for the Fatehpur Sikri Lok Sabha seat, comprising the Agra rural belt, is much clearer. Raj Kumar Chahar, the BJP candidate for 2019, is fortunate to secure the party ticket in the first list for the second time.
Considering the significant number of Brahmin votes, the BSP has nominated Ram Niwas Sharma as its candidate from Fatehpur Sikri. On Saturday evening, the Congress also declared Ram Nath Sikarwar as its candidate from Fatehpur Sikri, with candidates from all three major parties now in the fray.
In the 2019 elections, the then-state president Raj Babbar contested for the Congress party from Fatehpur Sikri but lost to BJP candidate Raj Kumar Chahar.