Ghosi bypoll result sets off alarm bells in BJP as SP snatches upper caste votes

Samajwadi Party's (SP) resounding victory in the Ghosi assembly bypoll has set off alarm bells in the BJP, which had gone all out to wrest the seat from its arch rival and was banking on the support of the upper caste as well as the non-Yadav OBC and non-jatav Dalit voters to sail through.

An analysis of the results clearly reveals that SP nominee received support from not only the party's core voters belonging to the Yadav and Muslim communities, but a section of the upper caste, non-Yadav OBC and also Dalits had voted for the party.

SP nominee Sudhakar Singh secured 1.24 lakh votes, while his BJP rival and former UP minister Dara Singh Chauhan, who was the sitting MLA and had resigned from the SP barely a month before the poll, could get a little over 81,000 votes. Interestingly in the 2022 assembly polls, Chauhan, as an SP nominee, had bagged 1.08 lakh votes and won the seat. 

Ghosi assembly seat has a sizable population of Muslim, Chauhan, Rajbhar, Bhumihar, thakur communities and their support often prove decisive in the polls. ''A major section of the non-Yadav OBCs voted for us but at some places we could not get the support of the upper castes,'' remarked a senior leader of Nishad Party, which was an ally of the BJP.

The leader also said that upper caste voters might have been upset with the BJP owing to its perceived preference for the OBC voters. ''We should also keep in mind that the SP nominee was a Thakur and his community members may have voted for him in large numbers,'' he added.

''The upper caste voters have made it clear that they are not owned by the BJP,'' said SP nominee Sudhakar Singh. Singh also claimed that a large number of OBCs other than the Yadavs and the Dalits had also voted for him, which was reflected in the number of votes secured by him.

Local scribes said that a section of the Bhumihar voters might also have supported the SP, which they attributed to the support of the Congress that had recently appointed Ajay Rai, a Bhumihar, as its UP chief.

''We are certainly not happy with the result....we will review the result and take corrective measures,'' UP BJP president Bhupendra Chaudhary said. SP president Akhilesh Yadav and RLD president Jayant Chaudhary credited the victory to I.N.D.I.A, the grand opposition alliance.