AGRA: Day after the four-time MLA and former BJP senior leader Suraj Singh Shakya announced his decision to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Etah constituency on a Jan Adhikar Party ticket, sitting BJP MP of Etah, Rajveer Singh described him as a spent force who is attempting to gain political mileage by contesting an election against him.Speaking with TOI, the 60-year-old MP said, "For more than a decade, septuagenarian Shakya has not been active in politics. He is a spent force. There is a BJP wave in the country and he is attempting to gain political mileage in the last days of his political career.”Shakya was once the closest aide of Rajveer Singh’s father, Kalyan Singh , who is governor of Rajasthan at present and was former chief minister of UP.Rajveer Singh had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with 4,74,978 votes from Etah constituency.Etah presently comprises five state assembly segments — Kasganj, Amapur, Patiyali, Etah and Marhara. According to Election Commission, there were 15,77,457 voters in 2014. The constituency is primarily dominated by three lakh Lodhi Rajput voters, followed by 2.50 lakh Shakya, around 1.50 lakh Yadav and almost 1.20 lakh Muslim voters. Brahmins, Baniyas, Jains, Dalits and members of other castes and religions constitute rest of the voters.According to Amit Tiwari, a local political analyst, Rajveer Singh, who is a Lodhi Rajput, is likely to face a tough competition from 70-year-old Shakya as the latter enjoys support from all the caste and religious communities. Shakya has been a state minister twice during the tenure of BJP CM Kalyan Singh and SP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav. He was an MLA in 1991, 1993, 2002 and 2007. Shakya was state minister in Kalyan Singh government in 1992.Tiwari said two lakh-strong Shakya votes could turn the tide in favour of the former BJP leader as he represents them. In 2014, there was no Shakya community representation. Further, a section among the three lakh-strong Lodhi Rajput community is not happy with Rajveer Singh. They could switch their allegiance to Shakya, he added.Responding to the queries on vote equations in Etah constituency, BJP leader Rajveer Singh said, “Today's voters are smart. They know which candidate can help bring welfare and prosperity in the region. In the past five years, I have initiated numerous development programmes in Etah such as laying the foundation of a medical college, construction of roads and laying out a sewer system. I have put pressure on local administration to take strict action against men involved in making illegal countrymade liquor and weapons. I'm confident of defeating all the rivals."

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