Allahabad Lok Sabha constituency saw two MPs– Lal Bahadur Shastri and VP Singh–elected and became the prime minister.
Allahabad is a Lok Sabha: Allahabad is a Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituency in the Prayagraj district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Allahabad saw two MPs elected and became the prime minister. Lal Bahadur Shastri became the prime minister during 1964–1966. V. P. Singh was elected twice from this constituency and later went on to become the prime minister.
The Allahabad Lok Sabha constituency, located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, has a rich political history. Here’s an overview:
Ancient Period: It finds mention in ancient texts such as the Vedas and the Puranas. In Hindu mythology, it is believed to be the place where Lord Brahma, the creator according to Hindu belief, performed the first-ever sacrifice after creating the universe.
Before Mughals: During the Mauryan Empire (around 3rd century BCE), Emperor Ashoka built a fort and a pillar commemorating his visit to the city. The Ashoka Pillar, with inscriptions detailing Ashoka’s dharma (moral law), still stands in Allahabad today. During medieval period, Allahabad was ruled by various dynasties, including the Guptas, the Mughals, and the Delhi Sultanate. Under Mughal rule, it became a provincial capital and a center for trade and administration.
Post-Independence Period: After independence, Allahabad continued to be an important political constituency. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, represented the Allahabad constituency in the Lok Sabha multiple times. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, also contested and won from Allahabad in the early years of her political career.
Emergency Period (1975-1977): Allahabad gained further prominence during the Emergency period declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1975 to 1977. Indira Gandhi’s election to the Lok Sabha from Allahabad in 1971 was challenged by Raj Narain, an opposition candidate. In June 1975, the Allahabad High Court found Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractices and declared her election void. This led to the imposition of the Emergency.
Recent Years: In recent years, Allahabad has witnessed shifts in political dynamics. The BJP has emerged as a dominant force in Uttar Pradesh politics, winning significant seats including Allahabad. However, other parties continue to contest vigorously in the region, making the electoral landscape dynamic and unpredictable. Renaming to Prayagraj: In 2018, the Uttar Pradesh government officially renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj, reclaiming its ancient name.
Members of Parliament
Sri Prakasa: He was an Indian politician, freedom-fighter and administrator. He served as India’s first High Commissioner to Pakistan from 1947 to 1949, Governor of Assam from 1949 to 1950, Governor of Madras from 1952 to 1956 and Governor of Bombay from 1956 to 1962. Sri Prakasa was born in Varanasi in 1890. In his early days, he participated in the Indian independence movement and was jailed. After India’s independence, he served as an administrator and cabinet minister. Sri Prakasa died in 1971 at the age of 80.
Lal Bahadur Shastri: He was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the second prime minister of India from 1964 to 1966. He previously served as the sixth home minister of India from 1961 to 1963. Shastri was born to Sharad Prasad Srivastava and Ramdulari Devi in Mughalsarai on 2 October 1904. He studied in East Central Railway Inter college and Harish Chandra High School, which he left to join the non-cooperation movement. He worked for the betterment of the Harijans at Muzaffarpur and dropped his caste-derived surname of “Srivastava”. Shastri’s thoughts were influenced by reading about Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Annie Besant. Deeply impressed and influenced by Gandhi, he joined the Indian Independence movement in the 1920s. He served as the president of Servants of the People Society (Lok Sevak Mandal), founded by Lala Lajpat Rai and held prominent positions in the Indian National Congress. Following independence in 1947, he joined the Indian government and became one of Prime Minister Nehru’s key cabinet colleagues, first as Railways Minister (1951–56), and then in numerous other prominent positions, including the Home Minister.
As prime minister, Shastri promoted the White Revolution – a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk – by supporting the Amul milk co-operative of Anand, Gujarat and creating the National Dairy Development Board. Underlining the need to boost India’s food production, Shastri also promoted the Green Revolution in India in 1965. This led to an increase in food grain production, especially in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. He led the country during the Second India–Pakistan War. His slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” (“Hail to the soldier; Hail to the farmer”) became very popular during the war. The war formally ended with the Tashkent Declaration on 10 January 1966; Shastri died the next day.
Hari Krishna Shastri: He was an Indian politician who was a Minister in the Government of India. He was a member of Fourth (1967, from Allahabad), Seventh (1980, from Fatehpur) and Eighth Lok Sabha. He was the losing candidate from Fatehpur in 1989 general election.
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna: He was an Indian National Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh; he later joined Bharatiya Lok Dal and worked with Charan Singh.
Janeshwar Mishra: He was a politician from Samajwadi Party. He was a member of the Parliament of India and also represented Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament. He was known as Chhote Lohia (Lohia Junior) for his commitment towards socialist ideology, in reference to Ram Manohar Lohia.
Vishwanath Pratap Singh: He was an Indian politician who was the 7th Prime Minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda. He joined the Indian National Congress party and was elected as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. In the Rajiv Gandhi ministry, Singh was given various cabinet posts, including Minister of Finance and Minister of Defence. Singh was also the Leader of the Rajya Sabha from 1984 to 1987. During his tenure as Minister of Defence, the Bofors scandal came to light, and Singh resigned from the ministry. In 1988, he formed the Janata Dal party by merging various factions of the Janata Party. In the 1989 elections, the National Front, with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), formed the government and Singh became the 7th Prime Minister of India.
During his tenure as prime minister, he implemented the Mandal Commission report for India’s backward castes, which led to major protests against the act. He also created the Sixty-second Amendment and enacted the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Act in 1989. During his term the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed happened and on the ground the terrorists were released. In 1990 the infamous exodus of Kashmiri Hindus happened from the valley of Kashmir. Following his opposition to the Ram Rath Yatra, the BJP withdrew its support for the National Front, and his government lost the vote of no-confidence. Singh resigned on 7 November 1990. His prime ministerial tenure lasted for 343 days.
Amitabh Bachchan: He is an Indian politician and also an actor, who works in Hindi cinema. With a cinematic career spanning over five decades, he has played pivotal roles in over 200 films. In 1984, Bachchan took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of a long-time family friend, Rajiv Gandhi. He contested the Allahabad’s (presently Prayagraj Lok Sabha constituency) seat for the 8th Lok Sabha against H. N. Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. With 68.2% of the votes in his favour, he won by one of the highest victory margins ever in Indian elections. Bachchan resigned from his seat in July 1987.
Saroj Dubey: She was elected to the Lok Sabha the lower house of Indian Parliament from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh in 1991 as a member of the Janata Dal. However, later after the break-up of the Janata Dal, She joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal and was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India representing Bihar. Her son Anurag Dubey and daughter-in-law Anu Dubey are Supreme Court lawyers. Her grandson Aditya Dubey is an environmental activist. Her granddaughter Anoushka Tiwari is studying Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, USA.
Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi: He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of which he was the President between 1991 and 1993. Joshi is the former Member of Parliament from Kanpur Lok Sabha constituency. He is a former professor of physics in University of Allahabad. He is one of the senior most leaders of the BJP and one of the founding members. Joshi later became the Union Human Resources & Development Minister in the National Democratic Alliance government. Joshi was awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award, in 2017 by the Government of India. Joshi has been a member of RSS since his college days.
Kunwar Rewati Raman Singh: He is an Indian politician from the Allahabad Lok Sabha Constituency in Uttar Pradesh. He played a major role in the establishment of the Samajwadi Party with SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, Beni Prasad Verma and Azam Khan. He is the national secretary of Samajwadi Party. He has served Karachana, the Vidhan Sabha constituency of Allahabad more than 7 times as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). He was also elected as a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Allahabad twice after defeating the popular BJP politician, Murali Manohar Joshi in 2004 general elections. He has now been elected as an MP (Rajya Sabha) from Uttar Pradesh. He was made irrigation minister and environment minister.
Shyama Charan Gupta: He was an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party, entrepreneur, and Member of Parliament representing Allahabad (Lok Sabha constituency) in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He was the founder of Shyama Group of companies, established in 1973. He contested the parliamentary elections for the first time from Banda as an Independent candidate in 1984 and came third. His second parliamentary election was from Allahabad in 1991 on BJP ticket. He lost to Janata Dal’s Saroj Dubey by 5,196 votes. In 1996, he campaigned for Murli Manohar Joshi only to challenge him in 1998 Lok Sabha elections as Samajwadi Party candidate. After losing the poll, he shifted to Banda (Lok Sabha constituency) in 1999 general elections. On 28 August 1989, he was elected as Mayor of Allahabad. He was elected the Mayor of Allahabad after a gap of 19 years; it was a prestigious election which he won as an independent candidate with the support of then Janta Dal. He emerged as a solid and a powerful Baniya Leader of Eastern UP during that time. In 2004, Shyama Charan was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Banda parliamentary constituency on the ticket of Samajwadi Party. He unsuccessfully fought from Phulpur in 2009 general election, losing to his Bahujan Samaj Party rival by a margin of less than 15,000 votes. In 2014 general election he won from Allahabad on a BJP ticket.
Gupta dropped hints of his dissatisfaction with Mulayam Singh Yadav’s party when one of his sons joined the Bhartiya Janata Party in January, 2014, reportedly at his insistence. He resigned from Samajwadi Party and joined BJP to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Allahabad. He won the elections getting 313,772 votes, a margin of 62,009 votes over incumbent MP Rewati Raman Singh of the SP.
Rita Bahuguna Joshi: She is an Indian politician and was cabinet minister in the Government of Uttar Pradesh. She was the president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee from 2007 to 2012. She is the daughter of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, a former chief minister of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
She joined Bharatiya Janata Party on 20 October 2016. She was elected to the Lok Sabha, lower house of the Parliament of India from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Indian general election as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.