Who is Atul Pradhan & Why Did SP Choose Him Against 'Lord Ram' Arun Govil? Reading Into Akhilesh Yadav's Poll Strategy

Sardhana MLA Atul Pradhan is Samajwadi Party’s new bet against actor Arun Govil in Meerut Lok Sabha constituency. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party changed its candidate after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded the “face of Lord Ram” from Uttar Pradesh seat.

SP had earlier field Bhanu Pratap Singh from Meerut seat, which will vote in the second phase of polling on April 26.

Why Did Samajwadi Party Change Meerut Candidate?

• SP’s move came after Arun Govil, famous for his role as Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayan’, was fielded by BJP from Meerut. Some believe that he has high chances of winning due to popularity as Lord Ram, which indeed would give a push to the Bharatiya Janata Party after the recent inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

• When Govil recently addressed his inaugural election rally at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Auditorium in Meerut, the venue reverberated with chants of “Jai Shri Ram”, while attendees danced to the renowned poet Anamika Ambar’s Rama song.

• Besides being the face of Lord Ram, an added advantage for Govil is that Meerut is his birthplace. According to a report in India Today during his maiden political address, Govil expressed his gratitude for “returning to his birthplace and likened it to coming home” — a statement that most Indians associate with Lord Ram return to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.

• Govil also spoke about Ram Mandir inauguration, saying that after January 22, the feeling of going to Ayodhya had changed.

• As opposed to Govil, SP’s earlier candidate, Bhanu Pratap Singh, was a Dailt face — which many believed was a safe bet by Akhilesh Yadav. A native of Bulandshahr, Bhanu Pratap came into limelight for the first time on April 12, 2022. According to Navbharat Times, he rose to popularity for running a nationwide EVM removal campaign. The report stated that Bhanu Pratap, a Supreme Court advocate, also reached the last prayers of the farmers martyred in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

• Navbharat Times stated that the Samajwadi Party wanted to give a message of standing with the Dalit community in matters like continuous oppression of the backward castes. Govil’s announcement, however, became BJP’s trump card — as many would say — forcing Akhilesh to rethink his strategy for Meerut. And thus Atul Pradhan entered the battle.

Who is Atul Pradhan?

• After dumping the Dalit strategy, the Samajwadi Party now seems to be focused on the fact that Meerut is considered as a Muslim-dominated seat.

• Atul Pradhan had won 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections after defeating the firebrand, two-time BJP MLA Sangeet Som. Som is a popular figure among several right-wing outfits, and is among the accused in Muzaffarnagar riots. The leader has also been an anti-beef campaigner for years now.

• Atul Pradhan has been a student leader at Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. Before UP elections, a video of him went viral on social media where he became emotional and apologised to people with folded handed, if the voters “felt he had committed any mistake”, and asked them to give him a chance to “repay this debt”.

• According to OneIndia, Pradhan’s father Gyanendra Pradhan and mother Brahmavati Devi both have passed away. His mother died when he was just three years old.

• The report further stated that Atul Pradhan, who comes from Gurjar community, is considered the right hand of Akhilesh Yadav in western Uttar Pradesh.

• According to News18 Hindi, either Pradhan’s family or closed ones are fielded from or around Meerut in most of the polls — from panchayat to assembly and civic body elections. His wife, Seema, fought mayoral poll on SP ticket.

• The SP leader reportedly came to limelight when he made a controversial statement against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in one of his videos in 2022. Registering an FIR against him, Daraula police station house officer had said, “I have found a 32-second video in which Atul Pradhan can be seen making indecent remarks about the PM. His statements have created a furore among people.” He had apparently also threatened policemen in the video.

The Samajwadi Party is now hoping that Pradhan can give a tough fight to Arun Govil.