LUCKNOW: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday sprung a surprise by fielding junior law and justice minister Satya Pal Singh Baghel, a Dalit, against Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, in a move that could potentially trigger a keenly watched Yadav versus Dalit clash in the high profile assembly seat in Mainpuri, UP.
Even as the saffron outfit kept his candidature under wraps, Baghel turned up to file his nomination soon after Akhilesh submitted his papers from the constituency which goes to poll in the third phase of UP elections.
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Significantly, this is not the first time Baghel will be contesting against Akhilesh. During the 2009 Lok sabha elections, Baghel, then with the BSP, had contested against Akhilesh from Firozabad but lost by a margin of around 67,000 votes.
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Born in Bhatpura village of neighbouring district of Auraiyya, Baghel hails from Garedia (shephard) sub-caste within Dalits. The sub-caste typically separates itself from the socio-economically powerful Yadav community which wields considerable influence in the region.
His candidature comes close on the heels of BSP also fielding a Jatav, Kuldeep Narayan from the seat, in what marked party chief Mayawati's desperate attempt to consolidate her core Dalit voters who have been drifting towards the BJP since 2014. The Congress, at the same time, has attempted to cut into the Yadav vote bank by fielding Gyanwati Yadav from the seat.
A doctorate in Military Science, Baghel happened to be the Personal Security Officer of former CM and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav in mid 1990s. Baghel formally started his political career in 1998 by contesting as a SP candidate from Jalesar parliamentary seat which he won by defeating BJP's Ompal Singh Nidar. He retained the seat in 1999 and then again in 2004, the year when Akhilesh won from Kannauj.
After he switched over to BSP and fought against Akhilesh in 2009, Mayawati rewarded Baghel by giving him a ticket to Rajya Sabha in July 2010. But just before his tenure was to complete in 2014, Baghel jumped ship and joined the BJP. He then contested from Firozabad, this time against senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav's son Akshay Yadav but lost by around 1.14 lakh votes.
Baghel persistence brought him another chance in 2017 which he successfully availed by winning from Tundla reserved seat in Firozabad on a BJP ticket. He was inducted into the Yogi Adityanath government as a cabinet minister for animal husbandry, fisheries and minor irrigation.
Two years later in 2019, Baghel was propped as a BJP candidate from Agra reserved seat, replacing party senior Dalit leader Ram Shankar Katheria. Baghel defeated SP backed BSP candidate Manoj Kumar Soni by a margin of over 2.1 lakh votes. And on July 7, 2021, he was inducted in the Narendra Modi cabinet.
