BJP surges ahead in UP by-polls, billed as semi final to 2022 contest

BJP had held six of the seven seats that went to by-polls in Uttar Pradesh.

The ruling BJP is putting up a strong show in by-polls for seven Assembly seats in the politically critical state of Uttar Pradesh by maintaining lead in six seats as per trends available three hours after the beginning of counting.

The by-poll results are being keenly watched for an indication on public sentiment on Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath’s rule.(ANI Photo)

An independent candidate was leading on the seventh seat. Six of these seats were earlier held by the BJP, while Malhani was won by the SP in the 2017 assembly election.

BJP candidates are leading on Tundla (Firozabad), Bangarmau (Unnao), Bulandshahr, Deoria, Ghatampur (Kanpur) and Naugaon Sadat (Amroha), and the independent candidate Dhananjay Singh is leading on the Malhani (Jaunpur) seat, previously held by SP. Counting of votes began at 8am and this is the status till 11 am with the most constituencies touching round 6 or 7 of counting.

An average of over 53% voters had exercised their franchise to decide the electoral fate of 88 candidates, including one women candidate in the fray.

In Bangarmau, the BJP was ahead with 18,160 votes against its nearest rival SP that had pocketed 10,412 votes so far. Former Congress MP from Unnao Anu Tandon’s joining the Samajwadi Party, a day before the polling, did not seem to have benefited SP in the by-polls.

In Ghatampur, the BJP is ahead with 9,016 votes against its nearest BSP rival, who has bagged 8,360 votes so far.

In Naugwan Sadat, BJP candidate Sangeeta Chauhan is leading against her nearest rival Javed Abbas from the SP by a wafer-thin margin of 90 votes as per ECI website. Sangeeta Chauhan has bagged 20,526 votes so far against 20, 436 votes obtained by Javed Abbas of the Samajwadi Party.

In Tundla, the BJP candidate is ahead with 16,358 votes against its nearest rival from BSP, who has cornered 11,734 votes so far.

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In Bulandshahr, BJP candidate has bagged 10,365 votes and BSP is in second place with 6,640 votes. SP was supporting a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) candidate on this seat as per their poll-pact. The RLD candidate is in the third position as per the trends.

On the eve of counting, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had accused the BJP of rigging the by-polls; the party spokesperson and former SP minister Abhishek Mishra, however, on Tuesday expressed confidence that SP will put up a strong show in the state.

“These are initial trends, ultimately by the time counting ends, SP would emerge the gainer. SP is the only alternative in UP,” Mishra said.

The counting of the votes is going on amid tight security and adherence to Covid-19 containment guidelines. Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer (CEO) Ajay Kumar Shukla said the election commission has made adequate arrangements for protective gears, PPE kits, face shields, masks, thermal scanners, gloves, sanitisers, soaps and water for those engaged in the counting process.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Bharatiya Janata Party state unit president Swatantra Dev Singh had led the party’s campaign on the seven seats. The Samajwadi Party had also campaigned vigorously but party president Akhilesh Yadav did not venture out to any of the constituencies. The Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress had also campaigned actively for the by-polls.

Political observer AK Saxena said the results of the by-elections will set the tone for the 2022 UP assembly elections. He said that results on the seven seats, spread across various parts of the state, will reflect the mood of voters both in urban and rural areas in the wake of Covid-induced lockdown.

The highest number of candidates, 18, were in fray in Bulandshahr, 16 in Malhani, 14 each in Deoria and Naugawan Sadat, 10 each in Tundla and Bangarmau and six in Ghatampur.

The Naugawan Sadat, Ghatampur, Bulandshahar, Deoria and Malhani seats fell vacant after the deaths of sitting MLAs Chetan Chauhan, Kamal Rani Varun, Virendra Singh Sirohi, Janmejai Singh and Prasanath Yadav respectively.

Bangarmau assembly seat in Unnao district fell vacant after the disqualification of the then sitting MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, following his conviction in a rape case on December 20, 2019.