Why is upcoming bypoll in Uttar Pradesh a litmus test for BJP?
The polls gain significance in view of the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the state, where its seats dropped to 33 from the 62.
After winning two of the 13 assembly seats in recent by-elections across seven states, the upcoming bypolls in 10 seats of Uttar Pradesh will be a crucial test for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to regain ground.
The polls gain significance in light of the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the state, where its seats dropped to 33 from the 62 it secured in 2019, and its vote share decreased to 41.3 percent from 50 percent.
Meanwhile, the party is also looking to increase its members in the Rajya Sabha, where its strength has come down to 86 from 90 for the first time in many years, following the end of the term for four non-aligned members.
The National Democratic Alliance now has 101 seats, which is below the majority mark of 113 in the 245-member House.
The assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh have fallen vacant after nine members, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, were elected to the Lok Sabha, and SP MLA Irfan Solanki from Sisamau in Kanpur was disqualified due to a jail sentence in a criminal case.
In 2022, five of these 10 seats were won by the Samajwadi Party, while the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in alliance with the SP secured one seat. On the other hand, the BJP secured three seats, and one seat was won by their ally, the Nishad Party.
Although the RLD has now joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Congress and SP, both constituents of the INDIA bloc, have decided to jointly contest the bypolls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had maintained a strong dominance in the Uttar Pradesh, not only in the previous two Lok Sabha polls, but also the state polls coming to power at its own with a brute majority in the 403-member House.
Among the seats of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly scheduled for bypolls include Milkipur, which fell vacant after Samajwadi Party leader Awadhesh Prasad was elected to the Lok Sabha from Ayodhya.
Prasad, a nine-time MLA and former minister from the scheduled caste community secured victory by over 55,000 votes, defeating two-time BJP MP Lallu Singh.
The BJP was confident of winning the Faizabad seat in view of the Ram Mandir, but it suffered a major setback.
Another seat Katehari has become vacant after Samajwadi Party’s Lalji Verma was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Ambedkar Nagar constituency. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav resigned from the Karhal assembly seat in Mainpuri after winning the Lok Sabha seat from Kannauj.
Chandan Chauhan of Rashtriya Lok Dal resigned from his Meerapur assembly seat of Muzaffarnagar following his election to Lok Sabha from Bijnor.
BJP’s Anoop Singh, who is also known as Anoop Pradhan Balmiki stepped down from his assembly seat in Khair after winning the Hathras Lok Sabha seat. Praveen Patel resigned from the Phulpur assembly seat in Prayagraj after being elected to the Lok Sabha from the Phulpur constituency on a BJP ticket.
The other seats that will go to polls in the by-elections are Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau and Kundarki.
In the current Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the BJP holds 249 seats, with its ally Apna Dal (S) having 13 seats. The Rashtriya Lok Dal holds eight seats, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party has six, and the Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (NISHAD) has five seats.
In opposition, the Samajwadi Party (SP) holds 103 seats, while the Congress has two. Additionally, there are two members from the Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) and one member from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).