Stakes high for BJP, SP in Uttar Pradesh bypolls

Dubbed “mini polls” before the next Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, stakes are high for the BJP and the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in the bypolls to the 11 Assembly and one Lok Sabha constituencies scheduled held on Saturday.

While a convincing victory for the BJP would come as a great relief for the saffron party, which experienced serious reverses in the recently concluded Assembly bypolls in Bihar, Uttarakhand and Karnataka, and would prove that “Modi magic” was not on the wane, a good performance by the SP would go a long way in boosting the morale of the ruling party leaders, as the state government has been facing flak from different quarters on its alleged failure to stem the rising number of crimes.

As 10 of the 11 seats going to the polls are held by the BJP, the saffron party, which had swept the state in the Lok Sabha polls by winning 71 of the 80 seats, would have a lot at stake and the party would like to maintain the tempo built during the general elections. No wonder the saffron party deployed a battery of firebrand leaders, including Yogi Adityanath, for undertaking an aggressive campaign in the state.

Though the BJP had led in nine of the Assembly seats going to the bypolls in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, it may not find the bypolls fight easy. According to the reports, the party was facing a tough challenge at least in four of the nine seats.

 Polarisation and caste factors have upset the calculations. The bypolls are also being billed as the “first real test” for the newly-appointed BJP chief Amit Shah, who was the in-charge of the state unit of the BJP during the general elections. BJP sources said the party nominees for the bypolls had been chosen by Shah.

Though the SP has nothing to lose, it would like to wrest a few seats from the BJP to at least prove its contention that performance in the Lok Sabha elections cannot guarantee a similar victory in the Assembly polls.

SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav’s prestige is at stake in Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency, where his grand nephew Tej Pratap Singh Yadav is making his debut in active politics.

For the Congress, wining one or two seats could come as a much-needed booster. The party seems to be well placed in at least two Assembly seats.

The BSP has decided not to field its candidates in the bypolls and instead support selected independent nominees.