Dissent over ticket distribution in the Samajwadi Party is now finding its way to posters and hoardings and disgruntled party leaders who have been deni-ed tickets are expressing their angst through poetry.
In Sultanpur district, the sitting SP MLA, Anup Sanda has been denied ticket and Abrar Ahmad is the new party candidate for the 2012 Assembly elections form the Sultanpur city seat.
Anup Sanda had been involved in a long drawn battle in an extra marital affair and was accused of abetting a failed suicide attempt and also of kidnapping.
After being denied the party ticket, Anup Sanda has put up hoardings in the district with the following couplet — Chaman ko seechne mein pattiyan kuchh jhadd gayi hongi, yehi ilzam hum par lag raha hai bewafai ka/ magar kaliyon ko jisne raund dala apne pairon se, wohi dawa kare hai is chaman ki rehnumai ka. (Some leaves may have fallen down while watering the garden and I am being blamed for being unfaithful to my work. But the one who trampled over flower buds is now claiming to be a protector of the garden) .
The message in the couplet is clear and direct. The outgoing MLA has admitted to his mistakes — pattiyan kuchh jhadd gayi hongi — but is pained over the fact that those who damaged the party are now being rewarded.
Within days of Anup Sanda’s hoardings, the rival group in the party led by one Haider Hussain, a supporter of Abrar Ahmad, also came up with poetic hoardings.
Haider Hussain’s hoardings boldly ask, “Tu idhar udhar ki na bat kar, yeh bata ki karwan kyon luta/ mujhe rehjano se gila nahi, teri rehbari ka sawal hai” (Don’t talk about irrelevant matters, tell us why the procession was looted/ I have no complaints against those who robbed us, the question here is of your leadership).
In the same hoarding, another couplet targets Anup Sanda and says, “Tumhare paon ke neeche koi zameen nahin hai, kamaal yeh hai ki phir bhi tujhe yakeen nahin hai” ( You do not have land under your feet and the wonderful thing is that you do not believe it).
This poster war in Sultanpur district has blown the lid off the internal bickering in the Samajwadi Party and is already causing damage to the party here.
“This is definitely damaging the party’s prospects here and if the issue is not resolved, we may end up losing this seat. Charges against Anup Sanda have not yet been proved and he should have got the ticket. If the party leaders wanted to change the candidate, they should have called all groups and found an acceptable solution,” said a senior party leader who did not wish to be named.
In Lucknow, senior SP leaders refused to comment on the poster war and said that putting up couplets did not mean that leaders were at war.