BJP eyes clean sweep in UP Assembly bypolls

Apparently wary of its past performance in Uttar Pradesh bypolls, the BJP this time is not leaving anything to chance and is eyeing a clean sweep in the bypolls for the 12 Assembly seats in the state.

According to sources in the BJP here, senior party leaders and state ministers have been entrusted with the task of ensuring a clean sweep for the saffron party.

A senior UP BJP leader told DH that the every Assembly seat going to the bypolls has been assigned to a minister assisted by a senior state leader.

He said that the process of selection of the candidates had already started.

"We will make sure that the work of selection of the candidates is complete well in advance so that they have ample time for campaigning in their respective Assembly constituencies," the leader added.

The leader also pointed out that the central leadership of the party had made it clear that the kin of the leaders, whose election to the Lok Sabha had necessitated the bypolls, would not be given party nominations under any circumstances.

A divided Opposition could make things easier for the BJP. The SP-BSP alliance has already broken and the Congress continues to be in disarray.

Of the 12 seats going to the bypolls, BJP had won in ten while the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the BSP had won one seat each.

The BJP, according to the sources, was eyeing the Rampur seat of firebrand SP leader and now Lok Sabha member Azam Khan.

"We want to win the Rampur seat... It will send a strong message to the people if we are able to wrest it from the SP," the BJP leader said.

Rampur has been the fiefdom of Azam Khan, who had won it nine times. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in the recently concluded general elections from Rampur defeating BJP nominee Jaya Prada.