Of the 27 Lok Sabha seats in the region where voting is scheduled to be held on May 25 and June 1, the BJP had won 17 seats in the 2019 general elections. The Apna Dal (AD), BJP’s alliance partner, had won two seats. BSP had won five seats followed by the SP which had two seats in the 2019 polls.
The SBSP is contesting from the Ghosi LS seat where Om Prakash Rajbhar’s son, Anil Rajbhar is in the fray. Om Prakash Rajbhar faces a twin challenge of ensuring victory for his son and also help the saffron party in securing support of the electorally influential "Rajbhar" community, which has a sizable strength in around half a dozen seats including Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia, Ghazipur. and Lalganj.
Nishad Party president Sanjay Nishad, whose son Praveen Nishad is contesting for the BJP, also faces a similar challenge. Nishad Party has been entrusted with the task of garnering support of the "Nishads" (boatmen), who play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the polls on at least six LS seats, including Gorakhpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Mirzapur and some others.
The Apna Dal, a predominantly "Kurmi" outfit, is contesting two seats. Anupriya Patel herself is in the fray from the Mirzapur constituency. The "Kurmi" community has sizable strength on several LS seats, including Varanasi, Kaushambi, Phulpur, Pratapgarh and some others. The outcome of the polls on these seats will decide her political stature in the NDA.
Dara Singh Chouhan is another OBC satrap who had won Ghosi assembly seat on a Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket but later switched loyalty to the BJP. He, however, lost the assembly by-polls in Ghosi despite which he was made a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet. He will be tested again in the upcoming Ghosi LS polls.
Prominent OBC leader Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently resigned from the SP and formed his own outfit, is contesting as an independent candidate from the Kushinagar LS seat. The results will decide his political stature in the state.