Lucknow. The by-elections being held on nine seats in Uttar Pradesh are a litmus test for the ruling party and opposition stalwarts. With Congress out of the fray, the election is now being considered between BJP and SP. However, BSP is also busy in making a triangular fight. On behalf of BJP, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tried to create an atmosphere in every seat by campaigning vigorously for three consecutive days. Akhilesh Yadav is also sensing the political trend. According to political experts, the reputation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati is at stake in the by-election. Although the 2027 UP Assembly elections are still far away, this by-election is being seen like the semi-final of the Assembly. This is the reason why all the parties have given their full strength to win it.
BJP has made former MLA Dharamraj Nishad its candidate for the Katehari Assembly by-election of Ambedkar Nagar. SP has given ticket to Lalji Verma’s wife Shobhavati. Whereas BSP made Amit Verma its candidate. BJP has given a big responsibility to Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh by making him in-charge of Katehri seat. He has been camping here several months before the announcement of elections and is working diligently in creating an atmosphere in favor of BJP here. Along with him, Minister of State Dayashankar Mishra Dayalu is also holding the reins of the campaign. Omprakash Rajbhar, president of BJP’s ally party SubhaSP and minister in the state government, is also making full efforts with his workers in the Katehari assembly by-election. On this seat, SP has fielded National General Secretary Shivpal as in-charge.
He himself has taken charge of the campaign. The reputation of Lalaji Verma, who was MLA from this seat and has now become MP, is at stake. His wife is the SP candidate from here. At the same time, Chief Minister Adityanath has held a public meeting in Katehari assembly constituency and has also given gifts worth crores to the people here. Ambedkar Nagar was once a bastion of BSP, the party is trying to regain its lost ground here. Perhaps that is why BSP State President Vishwanath Pal is continuously active in Katehri. The hottest seat for the by-election is Karhal. Here the reputation of Mulayam’s family is at stake. SP nominated Mulayam’s grandson and Akhilesh’s nephew Tej Pratap as its candidate for this seat.
At the same time, BJP, which is in power in the state, has fielded Anujesh Yadav, son-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s brother Abhayram Yadav, from this seat. The fight between the son and son-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family has made the election battle of Yadav dominated Karhal interesting. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak also has a big goal to end the drought of BJP’s defeat from here. Along with this, the reputation of ministers like Yogendra Upadhyay, Jaiveer Singh and Ajit Pal is linked to this election. All the members of the Mulayam family are continuously campaigning on this seat. SP MP Dimple Yadav is campaigning on this seat. Apart from this, Shivpal Yadav, Badaun MP Aditya Yadav, Azamgarh MP Dharmendra Yadav are also continuously sweating on this seat.
Phulpur, adjacent to Prayagraj, has a Kurmi population due to which BJP government’s MSME Minister Rakesh Sachan and SP General Secretary Inderjit Saroj are contesting from here. This seat is also linked to the prestige of Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad. BJP has made Ramveer its candidate in Kundarki Assembly. SP has placed its bet on former MLA Rizwan. BJP has made Cooperation Minister JPS Rathore and Jaswant Singh in-charge from here. Here BJP state president Bhupendra Chaudhary is also sweating a lot. SP has appointed many MLAs and MPs here. SP has fielded Naseem Solanki, wife of jailed MLA Irfan Solanki, as its candidate for Sisamau seat in Kanpur. BJP has gambled on Suresh Awasthi here. BJP has made the government’s Finance Minister Suresh Khanna in-charge of this area.
Other veterans are also contesting this seat. Here too there is a tough test for the veterans. The reputation of Union Minister Anupriya Patel and her husband Ashish Patel is at stake in Majhwan. The reputation of RLD President Chaudhary Jayant Singh from Meerapur seat is at stake. Well, the stalwarts of both SP and BJP parties have taken charge of the seat. Senior political analyst Virendra Singh Rawat says that all the parties have put in full force in the by-elections. Like every time, BJP has fielded an entire army of ministers and organization. Similarly, like BJP, SP has also made in-charges for every seat. After this, the responsibility of winning the elections has been entrusted to the MPs and MLAs. This election is linked to the prestige of Chief Minister Yogi and Akhilesh. The results of this election will decide the political stature of the stalwarts of both the parties.