All eyes are on the Karhal assembly headquarters in Mainpuri. Karhal is the most popular seat in the UP by-elections. This seat is considered the stronghold of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav’s family. The two candidates fielded here, from SP and BJP, are Yadavs. While the SP has fielded Tej Pratap Yadav, the BJP has gone for Anujesh Yadav, son-in-law of the Yadav family. In such a situation, it will be interesting to see who will win against Karhal.
Let’s know the live results…
– The administration has made all preparations for the recount in Karhal. The counting of votes will begin at 8 in the morning.
– In view of security measures, a large force has been deployed around the counting site.
We told you that this time around 54 per cent people exercised their right to vote in the Karhal Assembly by-elections. Whereas, when Akhilesh Yadav contested from here in the 2022 assembly elections, there were 66 per cent votes.
– Compared to the 2022 assembly elections, the 2024 by-elections saw approximately 45,000 fewer votes. The BJP cites the low vote in its favor, while the SP says its victory is certain despite the low vote.
It is noteworthy that in the 2002 assembly elections, around 54 per cent voting took place in the Karhal seat. Then BJP candidate Sobran Singh Yadav had won from Karhal.
SP-BJP clash
After becoming MP from Mainpuri, Akhilesh Yadav had resigned from the Karhal Assembly. The SP named Tej Pratap Yadav as its candidate for the vacant seat due to his resignation. After which the BJP made a big move by fielding Anujesh Yadav, brother-in-law of SP MP Dharmendra Yadav. BSP has played the Shakya card in this seat.
It is known that Anujesh Yadav seems to be Tej Pratap’s uncle in relationship. However, there has been a lot of discord between both families. Anujesh’s mother has also been an MLA. According to experts, if ethnic votes are divided in this political fight between two families, the SP may suffer losses.
Karhal is SP stronghold
In the year 1992, SP emerged as a political party on the political map and after the 1993 elections, Karhal, which was the workplace of Mulayam Singh Yadav, emerged as the bastion of the party. In the 1992 elections, the SP made Baburam Yadav its candidate from the Karhal seat and the public made him victorious and sent him to the assembly. Even in the 1996 UP elections, Baburam Yadav managed to make it to the assembly. The SP won the Karhal seat in the first two assembly elections after its debut as a political party in UP, but in the third election, the hat-trick was stopped by the BJP.
When BJP stopped Vijayrath
In the 2002 UP elections, the SP was trying to score a hat-trick in the Karhal seat. The party fielded Baburam Yadav’s son Anil Yadav for this seat. At the same time, the BJP also tried its best to win the battle of Karhal. BJP played the Yadav card to break Mulayam Singh Yadav’s fort and stop the SP’s victory bandwagon. The BJP fielded Sobran Singh Yadav, brother of Darshan Singh Yadav, considered a staunch opponent of Mulayam Singh Yadav, on the lotus symbol in the battle of Karhal. In a tough contest, BJP’s Sobran made it to the assembly, winning the election by a narrow margin of 925 votes. This victory is also the BJP’s only victory in this seat so far. From then till now, BJP is waiting for the lotus to bloom in Karhal. The SP has controlled Karhal since 2007.
caste equation
If we talk about the caste equations of Karhal assembly seat, it is a Yadav dominated seat. As per estimates, there are around 1.25 lakh Yadav voters in Karhal assembly constituency. Voters from the Shakya caste rank second in this assembly constituency whose estimated population is around 40,000 people. According to the estimated figures, there are 30,000 to 30,000 Jatav and Rajput voters, 25,000 to 25,000 Pal-Dhangar voters, 18,000 to 18,000 Katheriya and Lodhi voters, besides 15,000 to 15,000 Brahmin and Muslim voters in Karhal.
