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Stage set for BJP-SP electoral battle in UP
Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM too has fielded its candidates from Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Meerapur seats, while the Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) of Chandrashekhar has fielded candidates on all seats except Sisamau
Lucknow: It is BJP versus the SP as Uttar Pradesh gets ready for bypolls in nine assembly seats on Wednesday, which are being viewed as the first electoral battle after the Lok Sabha polls.
While the Congress is not contesting the bypolls and supporting its INDIA bloc partner Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party is contesting all nine seats on its own.
The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM too has fielded its candidates from Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Meerapur seats, while the Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) of Chandrashekhar has fielded candidates on all seats except Sisamau. Ninety candidates are in the fray in the bypolls, with the maximum of 14 candidates in the fray from Ghaziabad assembly constituency, while the minimum count of candidates is five each from Khair (SC) and Sisamau assembly constituencies.
Though the results of the bypolls will not have any direct impact on the 403-member UP Legislative Assembly, it will send a message to various political parties. While the SP is aiming to increase its tally further in the House, BJP and its ally RLD will try to further consolidate their presence in the Assembly. At present, the BJP has 251 MLAs in the Assembly followed by the SP with 105 MLAs. BJP allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) has 13 MLAs, RLD has 8 MLAs, SBSP has 6 MLAs, and NISHAD party has 5 MLAs.
The Congress and Jansatta Dal Loktantrik have two MLAs each, while the BSP has one MLA. This will be the first electoral test of the INDIA bloc as well as the NDA in the politically-crucial state after the Lok Sabha elections. Ahead of voting, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday urged voters to vote for his party.
In a post on X of the SP, he said, “I would like to ask all my voters, especially the young farmers, to help. The administration can only create disturbances in the elections. I hope the administration will work to protect the rights to save the Constitution given by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar.” UP BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla on Tuesday took a dig at the Samajwadi Party saying, “Samajwadi Party is afraid of losing the bypolls. Akhilesh Yadav wants to escape responsibility by blaming the Election Commission for the defeat”.
