There was a time when Kanpur was a stronghold of the Left but the picture is different as it goes to polls Thursday. Of its 10 assembly constituencies, the Left is contesting in only two.
Communist Party of India-Marxist candidate Govind Narian is a nominee in Govind Nagar and Communist Party of India’s (CPI) Anil Awasthi is running for Kidwai Nagar.
“Leftists had a historic role in Kanpur. We will work to make ourselves relevant in the present situation too,” Narian told IANS.
The Left’s clout has obviously declined.
“The closure of textile mills leading to reduction in the industrial workforce has weakened the Left,” admits Subhashini Ali of the CPI-M who won the Kanpur Lok Sabha seat in 1989.
Political analyst Rakesh Verma said the prospects of the Left candidates were not bright.
“Kanpur has changed. Now communal and caste factors count,” he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held the Lok Sabha seat from 1991 to 2004 here.
Veteran CPI leader S.M. Banerjee represented Kanpur in the Lok Sabha from 1957 to 1977.