Explained: SP Baghel's nomination from Karhal against Akhilesh Yadav

BJP candidate SP Singh Baghel filed his nomination from Mainpuri's Karhal assembly constituency on Monday, highlighting his impending contestation against Samajwadi Party president and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. Despite the scales tipping in favor of Yadav, who has a notable advantage in Karhal due to Mainpuri being an SP stronghold, the fight might turn out to be more than what it seems on the surface.

Lucknow: BJP candidate SP Singh Baghel filed his nomination from Mainpuri's Karhal assembly constituency on Monday, highlighting his impending contestation against Samajwadi Party president and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. Despite the scales tipping in favor of Yadav, who has a notable advantage in Karhal due to Mainpuri being an SP stronghold, the fight might turn out to be more than what it seems on the surface.

Political analyst and veteran journalist Adesh Shukla is of the same opinion. Shukla, in a conversation with ETV Bharat, says that such a contest between Baghel and Yadav would help in boosting a narrative. The analyst noted that this could also be a ploy to showcase the difference in priorities.

Taking Baghel forward, Shukla noted, the party wants to provide "a narrative of development vs caste politics", as Yadav's victory "would depend crucially on the MY(Muslim-Yadav) vote count".

Shukla stated that this was another way to get the message across that BJP was not willing to let the heavyweight score an easy win.

Karhal also consists of 30% non-Yadav population, acquiring votes from which Baghel can propel himself against Yadav.

Interestingly, this does not mark Baghel's first introduction to the SP's indefatigable Yadav vote bank in Uttar Pradesh. Before actively pursuing politics, the BJP leader was appointed as a Sub-Inspector in the Uttar Pradesh Police Service.

In 1989, he likely got a peek into the inner machinations of the SP after he was selected as one of former UP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav's security detail.

This was followed by Baghel eventually being fielded as a Samajwadi Party candidate back in 1998, from the Jalesar constituency, thereafter being elected twice as an MP.

In 2014, Baghel contested the Firozbad Lok Sabha seat against SP national president Professor Ramgopal Yadav's son Akshay Yadav, losing in the process. This was followed by him shifting to BJP.

Currently, he is considered quite close to Home Minister Amit Shah.