Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Turncoats may impact poll results for BJP in Gautam Budh Nagar

Dozens of SP, BSP local leaders joined BJP just before Thursday, the day of polling in Gautam Budh Nagar Lok Sabha constituency.

The poll prospects of Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate (BJP) Dr Mahesh Sharma might get affected as party loyalists have not taken kindly to turncoats from other parties. BJP’s loyalists are upset with entry of various political heavyweights from Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) just before polls, a development that can affect the outcome of the 2019 elections, BJP leaders said.

Voters stand in a queue to cast their vote during the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, at a polling booth in Noida, Gautam Budh Nagar LS constituency on Thursday, April 11, 2019. (Sunil Ghosh / HT Photo)

They said Dr Sharma tried his best to bring in most of the SP and BSP leaders from the Gujjar community – a dominant vote bank in the constituency.

Bijendra Bhati, brother of Narendra Bhati, an SP MLC, along with his family members, joined BJP on Tuesday. (Narendra Bhati had fought LS polls against Dr Sharma in 2014.) Earlier, the incumbent MP had brought Vedram Bhati, a former BSP leader and a minister in the Mayawati-led BSP government, into the party fold in 2007. Ravikant Mishra, another BSP leader, who fought from Noida in 2017 Assembly polls, joined BJP recently. Similarly, Congress’s Dr VS Chauhan, who fought the BJP in 2012, also joined BJP in 2019.

Dozens of SP, BSP local leaders joined BJP just before Thursday, the day of polling. “Some of the leaders from the SP and the BSP had been fighting an ideological battle with us since past many years in the district. Our workers are not happy with them joining our party that is considered to be disciplined and enjoys a clean image among voters. It has discouraged our cadre and will impact result for sure,” Dinesh Sharma, a BJP worker from Sikandrabad, said.

Some Gujjar voters said the joining of various SP, BSP Gujjar leaders with the BJP had lent credence to the reputation of these parties. They said the joining united the community in favour of Nagar as SP-BSP and the BJP became stronger with each other’s support. “As BSP has become stronger with support from local Gujjar leaders, a majority of voters of our community are supporting Nagar. This consolidation will certainly impact results,” Dev Nagar, a Dadri resident, said.

BJP leaders, however, said the move will help them instead in the poll outcome. “We have welcomed all leaders from other parties who are willing to work on our party’s ideology and leave their old parties. These leaders have joined us because they believe that PM Modi is working for all communities without any bias and is making India stronger. The move will increase our victory margin in 2019,” Govind Chaudhary, executive member, BJP west UP unit, said.