Rampur

With a total of almost 17 lakh voters, Rampur is a Muslim majority seat with a Muslim voter population of almost 51%. Of the five assembly seats, three are held by the SP, while two are held by BJP. The BJP tends to log a better vote share in the seat in Lok Sabha elections compared to assembly elections. This seat is a bastion of the Samajwadi Party and particularly of Azam Khan, who won the seat in 2019. In the by polls of 2022, BJP’s Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi won the seat, marking a first for the BJP in Rampur. Currently, the SP has still not decided who will contest from this seat as Azam Khan has been in jail since October 2023. Khan has urged Akhilesh Yadav to contest from the seat but that did not happen. Instead, Samajwadi Party has fielded Imam Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi which has caused some friction among Azam Khan’s faction of the party.<br><br>Rampur has been a fortress for Azam Khan and his family who have been ruling here since 2002. Azam Khan has been an MLA from the Rampur assembly seat ten times. However, of late, Azam Khan’s empire has crumbled, with him in jail over charges of defamation and forgery. The election in 2024 is going to be a test for Azam Khan’s hold over his party and his Rampur bastion. While his support base stands strong, a certain section of it wants to move forward from the family towards new leaders. Farmers in this largely rural constituency face a host of issues as well. Their demands include higher sugarcane MSPs, better payments by sugar mills. Farmers are also dissatisfied by the construction of the 210MW Luhri Hydroelectric Project by Satluj Pal Vidyut Nigam, a PSU, claiming that it has usurped the rights of the people. This region also saw substantial support for the farmers’ protests. Heavy rains and flooding is also an issue as farmers face financial setbacks owing to crop damage. Communal polarisation is also expected to play a major role here as the issue of Gyanvapi masjid has caused a heated debate in the constituency.