Swami Prasad Maurya, the senior OBC leader who jumped ship from
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the Samajwadi Party (SP) recently, will be
contesting the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections from Fazilnagar in the
Kushinagar district.

The move is a signal of
political currents as Maurya, who made tall claims when he joined the SP, is
moving away from his traditional stronghold of Padrauna.

Pundits and local media observe
that Maurya’s decision to move away from Padrauna is an attempt to counter
anti-incumbency. There’s also an opinion that SP Maurya decided to steer clear
of Padrauna when he learnt that RPN Singh will be contesting the seat from the
BJP. 

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RPN Singh, a senior Congress
leader until recently, joined the BJP a few days ago. Singh is believed to be a
formidable leader and someone who has already defeated SP Maurya once, in
2009. 

RPN Singh is a member of Padrauna’s royal family. He has been a
representative for the constituency thrice — 1996 to 2009. However, Singh’s
political fortunes saw a slump over the last two elections in which he suffered
humiliating defeats. His vote share reportedly dropped from 17% to 8%.

Political observers say
Maurya has decided to move away from Padrauna because he does not wish to lose
the perception battle before the elections. Maurya has won the Padrauna seat
twice, once in 2012 and again in 2017.  

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However, Maurya’s move to Fazilnagar is not without challenges.
The BJP is strong in this Kushinagar constituency having won the last two
elections here.

The BJP is fielding Surendra Singh Kushwaha, the son of senior
leader Ganga Singh Kushwaha, against SP Maurya. In 2012, Ganga Singh won the
Fazilnagar seat for the BJP despite an SP wave across the state.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party has announced Pallavi Patel as its
candidate from Sirathu in Kushinagar. Patel will be up against UP Deputy Chief
Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.