Nirmesh Mangal, who is contesting as an independent from the Maharajganj reserved seat, canvassed on an ambulance. His health deteriorated soon after he filed his nomination and he fell unconscious while leaving the office. He was taken to a hospital where, diagnosed with a heart ailment, he underwent treatment for more than two weeks. In that time, his son and wife took charge of the poll campaign on his behalf.
After being discharged from hospital, Mangal arrived in his constituency in an ambulance and resumed canvassing.For the past four days, Mangal has been travelling in his constituency in the ambulance itself. As he reclined on a stretcher inside the emergency vehicle, his supporters distributed pamphlets and urged people to vote for him. People gathered around the ambulance to see him. Some expressed sympathy.Besides physically campaigning for votes, Mangal has also released a video on social media in which he passionately appeals for votes and urges people to grant him a new lease of life. Mangal unsuccessfully contested from Maharajganj thrice and joined the Samajwadi Party after the 2017 assembly polls.
Though he was a strong contender, the SP this time handed the ticket to its ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party candidate, Geeta Ratnam. Mangal rebelled against the SP and got in the fray as an independent but the situation took an unexpected turn because of his sudden illness.Mangal has said that he had no ailments except diabetes. However, doctors at the hospital found blockage in his arteries and implanted two stents. In his campaign, Mangal proclaimed how he had been doing public service for the past 20 years but was not given a chance to contest polls. “Now the public is rooting for me,” he says. “People will give me a new lease of life by voting for me.”
Mangal’s supporters have released a poster which says – ‘Aapka apna, teen baar ka haara, Nirmesh bechara’. ‘Yours truly, three-time loser, unfortunate Nirmesh’.
A supporter, Ashok Manav, has even composed a song and released it on social media in which he makes an ardent appeal for Mangal.
The SP won the Maharajganj seat in 2007 and 2012 but in 2017 it went to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Nirmesh Mangal contested all the three elections on a BSP ticket and came second. In 2007, he lost by only a sleek margin of 889 votes.
This year, the BJP has nominated its sitting MLA Jaimangal Kanojia from the seat. In addition to SBSP’s Geeta Ratnam, Om Prakash is in the fray from the BSP and Alok Prasad, from Congress.
These parties were the main contenders in the ongoing polls until Nirmesh Mangal began his ambulance campaign, which has thrown political equations of the seat completely off balance.Meanwhile, in Sant Kabir Nagar’s Khalilabad assembly constituency, Subodh Chandra Yadav, son of former MP Bhalchandra Yadav, who is contesting on an Aam Aadmi Party ticket, is also riding a sympathy wave.Though Yadav was a strong contender from the SP, the party handed the ticket to sitting MLA Jai Choubey, who is a BJP turncoat. On the other hand, the BJP has fielded Ankur Tiwari, a fresher, from the seat. Peace Party President Dr Ayyub is also contesting the polls on this Muslim-majority seat and is supported by the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. The BSP has nominated Aftab Alam while the Congress has fielded Amarendra Bhushan here. After being denied a ticket by the SP, Subodh Yadav defected to AAP. His mother Phula Devi and siblings are running the campaign alongside him. A large number of youth often throng his rallies where he regularly mentions his father, Bhalchandra Yadav, and turns emotional.