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2024 Lok Sabha election: Stakes high for all poll players on Phase 6 seats in Uttar Pradesh
In 2019, the BJP won nine of these 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP bagged four and the SP clinched one. Polling in the sixth phase will take place on May 25
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The sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, for which the nomination process started on Monday, will shift focus to a region steeped in the legacies of prominent political figures and marked by the pervasive influence of mafia and musclemen on the electoral process.
This penultimate phase encompasses 14 constituencies: Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkarnagar, Shrawasti, Dumariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj (SC), Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr (SC), and Bhadohi.
In 2019, the BJP won nine of these 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP bagged four and the SP clinched one. Polling in the sixth phase will take place on May 25 and in the seventh phase on June 1 in 13 constituencies.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the SP-Congress combine, which is part of the INDIA bloc, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) — running independently this time — hold significant stakes across the Phase 6 constituencies.
The five seats that eluded the BJP in this phase in 2019 were Azamgarh, Ambedkarnagar, Shravasti, Lalganj and Jaunpur.
Except for Azamgarh, the BJP secured the other four seats in 2014 and later clinched Azamgarh in a 2022 by-election. Reclaiming the lost seats remains a major challenge for the BJP in this phase.
In 2019, the BSP, part of a broader alliance, wrested Ambedkarnagar, Shrawasti, Lalganj, and Jaunpur from the BJP.
Without an alliance this time, the BSP’s performance will be closely watched to gauge its impact as a potential spoiler or influencer in favour of the BJP or the SP-Congress alliance.
The SP faces challenges in expanding its footprint in this phase, particularly in constituencies historically untouched by the party like Sultanpur, Shravasti, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, and Bhadohi.
40-year drought for Cong in Sangam city
Once a Congress stronghold represented by country’s two former Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri and VP Singh and former UP chief minister Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, among others, Allahabad Lok Sabha constituency has eluded the party for last four decades.
Amitabh Bachchan, the Bollywood superstar, was the last Congress candidate to win from the Sangam city in 1984 with a 68.21% record vote share.
In 2024, BJP has replaced sitting MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi with Neeraj Tripathi, son of former governor and UP Vidhan Sabha speaker the late Kesri Nath Tripathi. The Congress has fielded Ujjwal Raman Singh, son of senior SP leader Kunwar Rewati Raman Singh who represented Allahabad in the Lok Sabha twice in 2004 and 2009.
The country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru represented the adjoining Phulpur constituency until his death in 1964. The BJP won this seat first in 2014 and again in 2019. Mafia-turned politician Atiq Ahmad also won this seat in 2004. This time, the BJP has fielded Praveen Patel, who faces the SP’s Amarnath Maurya.
Sultanpur to witness fiercely contested battle again?
The BJP’s Varun Gandhi captured the Sultanpur seat from the Congress in 2014. In 2019, his mother Maneka Gandhi won the seat, defeating the BSP’s CB Singh by over 14,000 votes. The BJP has put its bet again on Maneka Gandhi in 2024 while the SP has fielded Ram Bhual Nishad.
Kurmi, Brahmin voters hold key in Pratapgarh
Kurmi voters, 11% of the population in the constituency, are believed to be kingmakers in Pratapgarh where Brahmins are also in a dominant position with 16%. In 2019, BJP’s Sangam Lal Gupta defeated the BSP’s Ashok Tripathi. In 2014, the seat went to the BJP’s ally, Apna Dal. The Congress last emerged victorious here in 2009. The BJP has repeated its sitting MP while the SP has fielded SP Singh Patel, a Kurmi. Kunda MLA and former U.P. minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya and senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari are big influencers in the constituency.
Will SP be able to win back Azamgarh?
Yadav and Muslim voters together make a formidable vote bank in Azamgarh that the SP won has four times and the BSP twice in the past. The BJP could not win this seat even during the Modi wave in 2014 and 2019. The SP’ Dharmendra Yadav, however, lost the seat in the by-poll in 2022 to BJP’s Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirahua’, a Bhojpuri actor-singer. The BJP has fielded Nirahua against Dharmendra Yadav again.
Ambedkarnagar to test BSP’s influence
The birthplace of socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia, Ambedkarnagarm has been the BSP’s stronghold since it elected party chief Mayawati twice to the Lok Sabha. The BSP’s Ritesh Pandey snatched this seat from the BJP in 2019, getting 51.72% of the votes. Dalits, Kurmis, Brahmins and Muslims are dominant voters in this constituency. The BJP has repeated the sitting MP and the SP fielded Lalji Verma while the BSP has chosen Kawar Hayat Ansari.
BJP’s Saket Mishra in the fray in Shravasti
The BJP snatched this seat from the Congress in 2014 only to lose to the BSP in 2019. In 2024, the BJP has picked Saket Mishra as its candidate while the SP has fielded Ram Shiromani. Saket is the son of Nripendra Mishra, a retired IAS officer who served as principal secretary to PM Narendra Modi and is currently chairman of the Ram Temple construction committee. Saket is a nominated MLC in U.P’s Upper House.
Jagdambika Pal hopes for fourth consecutive term
The BJP has won the Domariyaganj seat five times since 1991 and the SP and the BSP once each.
The BJP’s Jagadambika Pal won the seat in 2014 and 2019 after having represented the constituency as a Congress MP in 2009. The BJP has fielded him again while the SP has roped in BS Tewari, a Brahmin. The BJP is relying on former Maharashtra Congress leader Kripashankar Singh to reclaim Jaunpur from the BSP.
Babu Singh Kushwaha, an OBC leader and former minister in Mayawati, is challenging him as the SP candidate. Brahmin and Thakur voters are decisive here.
In the past, Dhanajay Singh, a muscleman-turned-politician, has influenced elections in this constituency directly or indirectly.
Basti, a BJP bastion
Basti is traditionally the BJP’s stronghold. In 2019, the BJP’s Harish Dwivedi won by defeating BSP’s Ram Prasad Chaudhary. The BJP has repeated the candidate. The SP has fielded Ram Prasad Chaudhary and the BSP Daya Shankar Mishra.
Other constituencies
Lalganj, a reserved constituency, went to the BSP in 2019 when Sangeeta Azad defeated BJP’s Neelam Sonkar. In 2024, Neelam Sonkar is the BJP’s candidate while the SP and the BSP have fielded Daroga Saroj and Indu Chaudhary, respectively.
The BJP won the Sant Kabir Nagar seat both in 2014 and 2019 and the BSP in 2009. In 2019, the BJP’s Praveen Nishad defeated the BSP’s Bheeshma Shankar. The BJP has repeated its sitting MP, the SP has brought Pappu Nishad while the BSP has fielded Mohd Alam.
In Machhlishahr, the BJP’s Bholanath won by defeating the BSP’s Tribhuvan Ram by just 181 votes. Carved out in 2008, Bhadohi has gone to the BJP twice in 2014 and 2019 and once to the BSP in 2009. The BJP has fielded Vinod Kumar Bind and the Trinamool Congress, an SP ally, chosen Laliteshpati Tripathi.
