MIA In Rae Bareli: BJP's Manoj Pandey, Aditi Singh - Even After Amit Shah's Home Visit

BJP candidate from Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli Lok Sabha Seat Dinesh Pratap Singh is reportedly facing discontent within the saffron camp ahead of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20. Singh is in fray against Congress stalwart Rahul Gandhi in Rae Bareli, a seat represented by her mother Sonia Gandhi since 2004. The dissatisfaction is primarily due to the unexpected silence of BJP MLA Aditi Singh and rebel Samajwadi Party MLA Manoj Kumar Pandey who switched to the BJP on Friday (17 May). The clear absence of Aditi Singh from Dinesh Singh's campaign for the Raebareli Sadar seat has created a buzz in Raebareli's political circles and beyond.

Aditi Singh’s Unexpected Silence

Aditi Singh, a former Congress MLA, ran for and won the 2022 assembly election on the BJP ticket. She was regarded as a valuable asset to the BJP, both before and after Dinesh Singh's election. According to sources, Aditi Singh was unhappy with Dinesh Singh's candidature for the Raebareli seat. Dinesh Singh previously ran against Aditi's father, Akhilesh Singh, in the Raebareli Sadar election. These families are known as rivals in the area.

Aditi Singh's Instagram post from May 11 may say a lot about her silence. She wrote, "No compromise with principles," along with a photo of her father, sparking speculation. Pandey is an influential Brahmin leader. The Brahman community accounts for approximately 18% of Raebareli's population. Pandey, a three-time Unchahar MLA, was a prominent Brahmin figure in the Samajwadi Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav from 2012 to 2017.

Amit Shah's Attempt For Reconciliation

Last week, while visiting Raebareli, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly attempted to resolve a feud within the BJP camp. On May 12, Shah paid a visit to Manoj Pandey's home, where party candidate Dinesh Singh was present for a closed-door meeting. Aditi Singh attended Shah's public meeting at the Raebareli GIC grounds. She was on stage but did not speak. However, Shah emphasised her importance to the BJP in Raebareli.

According to an estimate, there are 11 per cent Rajputs and around 18 per cent Brahmins voters in the area. Since Brahmins have been traditional voters of the Congress, this was the biggest worry for the BJP. The BJP has fielded Manoj Pandey, the Samajwadi Party MLA from Unchahar, as its candidate. Manoj Pandey is the Brahmin face of the Samajwadi Party.

That is why the Samajwadi Party had given him such an important responsibility as a whip in the assembly. He joined the BJP ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections. Manoj Pandey is the character from Rae Bareli who has the credit of winning the highest number of votes in the state even at the peak of Modi's popularity.Manoj Pandey has been in the Samajwadi Party since May 17.  

Are Aditi Singh And Manoj Pandey Angry?

There have been such incidents in Rae Bareli in the last few days that it is felt that these two missiles of the BJP are not ready for launch. There are different reasons for both. Aditi Singh, the BJP MLA from Rae Bareli Sadar, and Manoj Kumar Pandey, the rebel SP MLA from Unchahar, are shying away from campaigning for Dinesh Pratap Singh in their constituencies. BJP sources say Union Home Minister Amit Shah tried his best to convince the two during his visit to Rae Bareli.
 
During his election campaign in Rae Bareli on Sunday, Shah accompanied Dinesh Pratap Singh to Manoj Pandey's house and sought support for him. It is being said that there are two reasons for Manoj Pandey's displeasure.First, he was hoping to get a BJP ticket for himself from Rae Bareli. In the February 27 Rajya Sabha elections, Pandey had quit as the chief whip of the SP and cross-voted in favour of the BJP. He might have been given such an assurance by the party.

However, the most important behind all this is being told the old rivalry with Dinesh Pratap. On the day of Dinesh Pratap filing his nomination papers, several local BJP leaders had also gone to convince Pandey, but he did not agree to go along.His son and brother joined the BJP the same day.

When Manoj Pandey did not go to file his nomination, the BJP had to field Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak to send a positive signal among the Brahmin community. Shah told Pandey that he should support the BJP candidate and the party should support his candidate and the party will reward him at an appropriate time, The Indian Express quoted sources as saying. 
 
Raebareli Sadar MLA Aditi Singh is also nowhere to be seen campaigning for party candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh.This could have a direct impact on the BJP's prospects.During Amit Shah's visit to Rae Bareli, she was present at the public meeting but did not address the gathering.