Smaller local parties rise and shine in Uttar Pradesh polls

The RLD played a major role in campaigning for the SP in western Uttar Pradesh to improve SP's poll prospects

Smaller local parties have emerged strong in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls this time, bolstering the BJP and the SP, and leaving behind the Congress and the BSP.

The BJP's ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) won 12 of the 17 seats it had contested and emerged as the third largest party after the BJP and the SP.

In Mauranipur, Apna Dal (Sonelal) candidate Rashmi Arya won by 58,595 votes.

The Nishad Party, which had entered into an alliance with the BJP for the polls, has also fared well. Ten candidates of the Nishad party contested on the party symbol while six from the party contested on BJP tickets. Of the total 16 candidates, six emerged victorious.

The son of Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad reached the Assembly after securing a win on a BJP ticket. The Nishad Party had fought the 2017 Assembly polls in alliance with local parties and fielded candidates on 72 seats, but due to the BJP wave, only one candidate Vijay Mishra could make it to the Assembly. Seventy of the party candidates lost their security deposit.

The SP may not have emerged successful but smaller parties supported it a lot.

The RLD played a major role in campaigning for the SP in western Uttar Pradesh to improve its poll prospects. It has secured eight seats. The SP-RLD alliance grabbed three seats in Shamli and four each in Meerut and Muzaffarnagar. In the 2017 polls, the SP had won only one seat in these places.

The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) also boosted the SP's prospects as their alliance won three seats in Mau and seven in Ghazipur. The SBSP has won six seats in Purvanchal. The SBSP had fought the 2017 polls in alliance with the BJP and won four of the eight seats it contested.

The Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) fought in alliance with the SP and lost all the three seats on which it contested but the party's working president fought on the SP's symbol and won, defeating Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Political analyst Amodkant Mishra said that local parties have emerged stronger in the assembly polls and the general elections.

The RLD and Apna Dal had an impact on the politics of the state. The BJP and the SP had formed alliances with the parties of the heavyweights of the regions.

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