The social churning is symbolic as well. Up on a hillock sits the ‘Quila’ (fort) of the erstwhile rulers, down in the Dalit basti is the house of the people’s “ruler”. Son of a Jatav peasant-turned-teacher, Master Ram Swarup Singh had won the seat on a CPM ticket for the last three terms, turning it into a Communist bastion. He died last August.

Desperate to retain the seat, the Communists too have succumbed to the lure of dynastic rule. Overriding apprehensions of comrades, the CPI(M) Politburo has chosen to field the late MLA’s son, Raj Kumar aka Raju, a political greenhorn.

A teacher in a government school at Pauri in Uttarakhand, 42-year-old Raju quit his job of 18 years to get into the rumble and tumble of UP politics. Raju claims he was reluctant to enter politics, but his late father’s supporters and party bosses urged him to take on his father’s mantle. “I want to finish the job he started,” he now says.

However, not everyone is happy with his candidature. According to sources, there is dissension in the party as veteran grassroots leader Comrade K S Toofan had expected to be nominated.

But most voters don’t seem to mind. “We don’t mind if Masterji’s son joins politics like the sons of most other VIPs,” say a rickshaw puller.

Most locals feel that Raju’s case is different as he hails from a family known for its simplicity and honesty. “Despite Chief Minister Mulayam Singh’s support for Masterji, he never took advantage of his father’s influence,” says Mohd Hanif, a local. “People hope he will be a worthy successor to his father.”

The SP is backing the CPI(M) candidate. Pitted against Raju is old foe BSP. As lawyer Mohd Naeem puts it, “Other parties don’t have much of a chance.”

Former MLA Sheeshram, a 62-year- old veteran politician, is contesting on the BSP ticket. The RLD has fielded 72-year-old Raghunath. The BJP is banking on 44-year-old Sushila and the Congress on Kamlesh Bhuiyar.

Naeem says the CPI(M) candidate stands to gain from the sympathy factor. “Unlike the typical archetypal netaji, Masterji never flaunted gunners or vehicles. He never sought armed escorts. Nor did he own a two-wheeler, let alone a car,” he says.