Mathura

Home to some of the holiest towns in India including Vrindavan, Mathura and Goverdhan, the Mathura Lok Sabha constituency is a highly significant political constituency in Uttar Pradesh. It is currently held by BJP leader Hema Malini who has been the MP from the seat since 2014. BJP has clinched the seat from runner up RLD (Rashtriya Lok Dal) with massive margins of around 3 lakh votes each time. The RLD is the second-most significant player in this seat, having bagged 22% of the vote share, a distant second from the BJP’s 52% in 2019. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is another major player which came in third in 2014, but did not directly contest from the seat in 2019. The Congress’s footprint is negligible with only 28000 votes received in the previous election.<br><br>With over 18 lakh voters and a 70% rural vote share, Mathura is home to five assembly constituencies Chhata, Mant, Goverdhan, Mathura and Baldev, all of which are held by the BJP. Muslim voters comprise 9% of the vote whereas Scheduled castes comprise more than 19%. Religious polarisation is a major factor in this constituency and the Ram Mandir inauguration has invigorated the masses in Mathura too which is primarily owed to the rising demand for the reclamation of the Krishna Janmabhoomi which is where the Shahi Idgah mosque stands. CM Yogi has himself raised the demand for the same.<br><br>Owing to its religious significance, Mathura’s tourism potential has been uplifted with a slew of cleaning, beautification and developmental work on the Ghats along the Yamuna river. The cleaning of the river water has also made a positive impact on people’s lives as water quality has improved. In January this year, The prime minister inaugurated the renovated Mathura sewerage scheme including the construction of a sewage treatment plant at a cost of about Rs 460 crore.<br><br>Electricity issues including long blackouts have also been done away with in the last few years. Liquor and meat were also banned in the city by the Yogi government which has been hailed by religious residents of the district. Mathura is also no stranger to gangster raj and the Yogi government’s efforts to curb crime has reaped positive results here.