Agra Lok Sabha Election 2024: Incumbent BJP MP S P Singh Baghel Locked In Triangular Contest With Samajwadi Party, BSP

New Delhi: With Lok Sabha Elections scheduled on May 7 for the Agra constituency, the election fervour and political debates have engulfed the streets of the city. The seat is reserved for Dalit candidates, about 30% of the 20.57 lakh voters are Dalits, with most of them being Jatav Dalits. Even though many are unhappy with the Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) recent performance, most Jatav Dalits still seem to support it. 

Despite the large number of Dalit voters supporting the BSP, the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has won the Agra Lok Sabha seat in the last three elections. This time, the BJP has re-nominated S P Singh Baghel, who is already a Union Minister, as their candidate. However, both the Samajwadi Party-Congress and the BSP have nominated Jatav Dalits for the seat - Suresh Chand Kardam and Pooja Amrohi, respectively. 

BSP’s Changing Winds In Agra 

Marking a shift in the approach, the SP has selected a candidate from the Jatav community. Following the dissolution of its alliance with the BSP in 2019, the SP initiated efforts to connect with the significant Dalit demographic, estimated to comprise approximately 20% of Uttar Pradesh's population. 

Stronghold Of BJP Since 2009 

However, it is not easy for any party to shake the BJP's ground. The party has continuously won the Agra Lok Sabha seat for the past 15 years since it became a reserved seat. Ram Shankar Katheria won for the BJP in 2009 and 2014, but in 2019, Prof SP Singh Baghel took over and secured another victory for the BJP, making it three in a row. Baghel, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste community, is once again the BJP's candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 

Contemporary Sentiments 

There are around 3,50,000 Jatavs, who are the second largest group after the dominant 4,50,000 Vaishya voters who support the BJP. The battle here is mainly for the Jatav voters in Agra, who typically support the BSP, but the BJP also has the support of around 1,50,000 Valmikis, who are also from the Scheduled Caste. 

The Samajwadi Party (SP) is counting on around 2,50,000 Muslim voters. There are also about 1,70,000 Brahmin voters and 1,50,000 Thakur voters.  

The BJP candidate, Prof SP Singh Baghel, has previously won from the nearby Jalesar parliamentary seat as an SP candidate and is confident about the support of around 3,00,000 backward voters in Agra.