The mood of the Kanpur seat in this election will decide the fate of many leaders

The people of Kanpur, who have been watching the agitation of the mills' unions since the liberation fight, will determine the destiny of their representatives in the third round of assembly elections, which will be conducted on February 20, in the context of the need for growth.

In the 10 assembly seats of Kanpur Nagar, there is a struggle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition parties; in the four assembly seats of Kanpur Dehat, there is a war between the ruling party and the opposition parties. As part of the assembly elections, there is a discussion of issues like economic development, health care, and inflation on the one side, and discussions of religion and caste on the other hand.

Aside from that, political parties have caught on to the flow of changing public feelings. Even though all of the political heavyweights, including the leaders of the BJP, Congress, the Samajwadi Party (SP), and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), are pleading for votes in this land by pledging development and law and order, the candidates have fielded themselves in this election on the basis of caste and religion equations in the region.

The majority of the textile mills in Kanpur, which were once leaders in the manufacturing of textiles and leather goods in the nation, have been reduced to shattered ruins. The mill sirens, which give the impression that it is morning, have remained deafeningly quiet for decades. The majority of the chimneys have also been frozen, but the small, medium and large businesses that have taken their place are still working hard to ensure the livelihood of millions of people in the region. However, even if the metro rail and e-buses, which are symbols of growth, are in service, the city continues to suffer from an extreme issue of traffic bottlenecks caused by unpermitted encroachment on public property.

Even though the small alleyways of Bithur, which were witnesses to the first liberation fight, are no longer filled with potholes, the fort, museum, and mythological ghat at the birthplace of Veerangana Lakshmi Bai are still in a state of disarray.

When it comes to Kanpur, the Congress, which dominated the city for a long period after independence, is now struggling for its very survival, and the Left parties, which are widely seen to be responsible for the city's industrial downfall, have faded into obscurity.

In the 2017 assembly elections, the BJP won seven out of ten seats in Kanpur Nagar, while the SP won two seats and the Congress won one, putting the area under its control. At this time of year's elections, the BJP is winning all 10 seats by putting the faces of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in front of voters. On the other hand, candidates from the opposition SP are adding to the BJP's woes by making enticing promises such as free electricity, employment, and the restoration of old pensions.

In Kanpur City, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress are competing against each other in three of the ten seats available; in another three, the Bharatiya Janata Party is in a straight race with the SP; and in four seats, there is the prospect of a triangular struggle.

In the 2017 elections for the Dalit and backward-dominated Bilhaur assembly seat, Bhagwati Prasad Sagar, who is now in the SP and is a candidate from Ghatampur, is ready to feed the BJP's lotus in his place, Rahul Bachcha Sonkar is ready to feed the BJP's lotus in his place, Congress's Usha Rani Kori, Madhu Singh Gautam of the BSP, and Rachna Singh Gautam of the SP are all up against it in this race.

Karishma Thakur, the chairperson of the Bundelkhand Mahila Morcha and a candidate for the Congress in the Govindnagar constituency, is matched against incumbent BJP MLA Surendra Maithani. Karishma is working tirelessly to turn the streets and win over the hearts of women in her favor, but certain members of her own party are attempting to obstruct her progress.

The soft-spoken Maithani proved to be a challenging opponent for him during the by-election in 2019, and it is proving to be an even more difficult test for him this time around. There seems to be no chance of BSP and SP in this situation.