“I am seeking justice for myself and for the people of Amethi,” says Garima Singh, the estranged wife of senior Congress MP in Rajya Sabha, Sanjay Sinh. The BJP candidate is locked in a pitched battle with Sinh’s wife and three-time Congress MLA, Ameeta Sinh.

Garima, the niece of former Prime Minister VP Singh, says she draws energy from the memories of her uncle. “He (VP Singh) was always a model for all of us in the family. Many of my family members were into politics. Politics is not new for me,” she said, adding that the fight with Ameeta Sinh is not just political, but personal, too. “People are accepting me as a candidate. It needs a lot of hard work to win. But I am sure that I will win,” she added.

Ameeta Sinh, however, is not bothered about ‘family issues’ in the poll battle. “The BJP thrives by dividing people on communal, caste and economic lines. They have also tried to divide families for their political benefit. Now they are dividing my family,” she said, adding: “I am shocked at the BJP’s ways of deciding candidates.”

Garima and Sanjay are locked in a property war, too: a case on the ownership of the Amethi Palace. Garima separated from her husband after his marriage to Ameeta, who was the wife former national badminton champion Syed Modi. The duo was charged by the CBI with the murder of Modi, but were let off later.

However, the beneficiary of the family feud could be Samajwadi Party leader Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, who managed to get a ticket despite serious differences with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Prajapati had defeated Ameeta in the 2012 polls. Ameeta alleges that Prajapati had destroyed the fabric of Amethi. “Law and order in the city has since worsened. He destroyed the social, economic and political fabric of this constituency,” she said.

The voters, it would seem, are not bothered about these developments. “We are facing a number of issues. We don’t have jobs. We don’t have affordable education institutions. It would have been better if politicians focussed on such issues,” said Atahar Hussain, a student.

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