Dariyabad (Barabanki): It is said people don`t cast their vote, they vote for their caste in this constituency, where Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma`s prestige is at stake.
Beni`s son Rakesh Verma is getting a tough fight from SP and BJP candidates in this seat, where muslim and scheduled caste votes could prove to be the deciding factor.
Rakesh, who is the Congress candidate is banking on development works done by him and his father and promising a complete change if elected, the seat in which he was second runner up in 2007 polls is not going to be a cake walk for him. A cabinet minister in the Mulayam Singh Yadav regime, Rakesh secured only 17,891 votes in 2007 and stood at the third place as a candidate of the Samajwadi Kranti Dal-the outfit floated by his father Beni after he left the SP.
Winning this seat is a prestige issue for the Union minister, who was elevated to the post of cabinet minister due to his say in the Kurmi vote bank. Beni, who was recently booed in his parliamentary constituency in front of Sonia Gandhi and earlier in Utraula in presence of Rahul Gandhi had been charged by rivals of misusing his Steel ministry for promoting his son here.
PTI