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UP assembly bypolls: BJP ally Apna Dal (S)'s Shafeek Ahmed Ansari wins Suar by 8,724 votes
The initial trends showed a close contest in Suar seat, but eventually, Apna Dal's Shafeek Ahmed Ansari emerged victorious over SP candidate.
Bharatiya Janata Party ally Apna Dal (S) on Saturday won Uttar Pradesh's Suar assembly seat in the recently held assembly by-elections.
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Apna Dal (S) candidate Shafeek Ahmed Ansari won the Suar seat, defeating Samajwadi Party's Anuradha Chauhan by a significant margin of 8,724 votes.
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The Suar seat became vacant after Abdullah Azam Khan, the Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate, was sentenced to two years in jail by a Moradabad court in a 15-year-old case. In the 2022 UP elections, Abdullah Khan, the son of SP heavyweight Azam Khan, had defeated Apna Dal (Sonelal)'s Haidar Ali Khan by a margin of over 61,000 votes. With over three lakh registered voters, Suar witnessed a keenly contested by-poll.
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Suar lies in Rampur, considered the stronghold of Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan. In the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election held in 2022, Abdullah Azam Khan of the Samajwadi Party secured a resounding victory in the Suar constituency by defeating his closest opponent, Haidar Ali Khan of Apna Dal (Sonelal), with a margin of over 61,000 votes.
The BJP government in the state currently enjoys a comfortable two-third majority in the 403-member assembly and this bypoll holds significant political significance for the participating parties in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In the 403-member assembly, the BJP has 255 MLAs, while its allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) and NISHAD Party have 11 and 6 legislators, respectively.
(With PTI inputs)
