Polling in 10 constituencies in the third phase on April 23 will be a litmus test for the Samajwadi Party (SP), with political heavyweights like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mulayam’s brother and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSPL) chief Shivpal Yadav, senior leader Azam Khan and Jaya Prada, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s pick for Rampur, in the fray.
The alliance between SP, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party and Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal poses a challenge to BJP, which won 71 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2014.
Mulayam is looking to win from his home constituency in Mainpuri for the fifth time. On April 19, the alliance held a historic joint rally in Mainpuri where arch rivals Mayawati and Mulayam shared the stage after 24 years. Mayawati hailed Mulayam as the real leader of the backward community, and he declared that this would be his last election.
Firozabad will witness an interesting contest too — Mulayam’s nephew Akshay Yadav, the sitting MP, will face his uncle and president of newly-formed PSPL Shivpal Yadav, who broke away from SP after Mulayam’s son Akhilesh Yadav took charge.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Etah on Saturday to campaign for sitting MP from Etah Rajveer Singh (alias Raju Bhaiyya), son of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and present Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh.
{{/usCountry}}Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Etah on Saturday to campaign for sitting MP from Etah Rajveer Singh (alias Raju Bhaiyya), son of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and present Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh.
{{/usCountry}}Another seat currently in the eye of the storm is Rampur, where friends turned foes Azam Khan (of SP) and Jaya Prada will slug it out.
Lucknow based political commentator and retired professor of political science, Dewakar Gangwar, said: “The third phase of polling will reflect the inclination of voters for BJP or SP-BSP alliance. Three seats Rampur, Badaun and Mainpuri are crucial for SP while Bareilly, Pilibhit and Moradabad hold importance for BJP. The voter turnout will also set the mood for other phases.”