Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
Of the nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP alliance managed to win seven seats, while the SP had to be content with just two seats. After the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had opposed the UP by-elections as a crucial issue. In the by-elections, the BJP not only got the benefit of being in power but also of participating in the elections with full force.
From CM Yogi Adityanath to Deputy CM Brijesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya, all senior BJP leaders had given their full strength. The result of this is that the BJP has been twice as successful in the by-elections.
Big blow for SP
Of the nine assembly seats in UP, the BJP managed to win seats in Ghaziabad, Kundarki, Khair, Majhwan, Phulpur and Katehari. RLD won the Meerapur seat with the support of the BJP. The SP could only win seats for Karhal and Sisamau. Of these nine seats in 2022, the SP had won four and the BJP had only three. Apart from this, RLD and Nishad Party had one seat each.
Lotus flower in Muslim-dominated Kundarki
In the by-elections, the BJP managed to defeat the two seats held by the SP. Before the elections, both seats seemed very difficult for the BJP, while they were considered politically favorable for the SP. Despite this, the BJP has settled the score of defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by fielding ‘Kamal’ in the Muslim-dominated Kundarki and OBC-dominated Katehari assembly seats.
BJP’s big loss in Lok Sabha elections
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the SP had dealt a heavy blow to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh based on its PDA (Backward, Dalit, Minority) formula. Of the 80 Lok Sabha seats, the SP managed to win 37 seats, while the BJP reduced it from 62 to 33 seats. The defeat in the Lok Sabha elections had shaken the BJP to its core. 9 assembly seats fell vacant due to 9 MLAs from the state becoming MPs while 7 fell vacant due to conviction of SP MLA Irfan Solanki from Sisamau seat. By-elections became a question of CM Yogi’s credibility
While Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had made the UP byelection a matter of credibility, it was a matter of prestige for the BJP. Yogi deployed a team of 30 of his leaders for the by-elections. Responsibilities were assigned to leaders according to the political mood of the headquarters. The CM himself took feedback from each seat and then started preparing the political ground for the BJP by visiting the by-constituencies. To this end, CM Yogi worked to lay the political board for the by-elections through development, employment and dialogue.
The balance of defeat in Lok Sabha is the same
The BJP’s strategy is to save its three seats in the by-elections as well as equal its defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha by winning the seats dominated by the SP. The BJP’s concern over these 10 seats is even greater because in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP got fewer votes than the SP in six seats. The by-elections to be held for 10 seats are considered the semi-finals of the 2027 assembly elections, so CM Yogi has started the mission to create a political atmosphere on the ground.
what’s at stake at the job fair
After August 15, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath started scripting the BJP’s victory by visiting different districts. The BJP started turning the political atmosphere in its favor with the formula of job fair and CM Yogi’s visit to the by-election seats because the by-election had become a difficult issue for the BJP.
The reason for BJP’s defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was the employment issue. Youth resentment became one of the main reasons for the BJP’s defeat. Due to this, CM Yogi has launched a job fair to help the youth. In this way, CM Yogi not only distributes appointment letters by organizing job fairs in the constituencies but also makes efforts for development and dialogue.
Responsibility of two seats each to the top leaders
Yogi Adityanath, Brijesh Pathak, Keshav Prasad Maurya, Bhupendra Chaudhary and Dharampal Saini occupied two seats each. CM Yogi held public meetings twice in each by-election seat. The move to unite Hindu votes scattered across castes by giving political advantage to the Hindutva agenda was also successful. In this way, CM Yogi himself claimed victory in the by-election seats.
Nishad Party not given seat
Of the UP by-election seats, there were five seats that are considered strong SP seats. Karhal, Kundarki, Katehari, Milkipur and Sisamau seats are considered very challenging for the BJP. Due to the Lok Sabha election results, Majhwan, Meerapur and Phulpur seats also did not look easy for the BJP. Instead of giving seats in Majhwan and Katehari to its ally the Nishad Party, the BJP thought it would be better to contest the elections itself.
Apart from the Lok Sabha elections, this time the Sangh is also supporting the BJP in its grassroots campaign. In the by-elections, apart from CM Yogi Adityanath, all other leaders were completely successful in their effort to unite the equations and societies by coming down to the ground and not allowing them to divide.
BJP’s defeat in Awadh-Purvanchal belt
SP managed to win the large OBC vote bank in its favor through the PDA ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, especially the votes of the Kurmi, Maurya and Nishad communities. Due to this, BJP was completely eliminated in Awadh and Purvanchal belts of UP. Akhilesh Yadav has realized that if the BJP is to be defeated, Yadav and Muslim votes alone will not work unless the OBC and caste Dalit community are included. That is why after the Lok Sabha elections, candidates from three major OBC castes were fielded in the by-elections, including Yadav, Kurmi and Nishad, but the BJP made a big move to break this equation.
Kurmi and Nishad equation
BJP won the Katehari seat by fielding BJP’s Dharamraj Nishad, who was contesting against SP’s Shobhawati Verma. There were almost equal numbers of voters from the Kurmi and Nishad castes. While SP made a bet on Kurmi, BJP ruined the equation of Kurmi and Nishad by playing in Nishad’s community. For the Majhwan seat, the BJP has fielded a candidate from the Maurya Samaj, opposite whom is BJP candidate Nishad. In this way the bet of Maurya versus Nishad was successful. BJP has fielded Deepak Patel, who hails from Kurmi community, to the Phulpur seat.
OBC inter-caste alliance
The BJP had fielded candidates following a well-thought-out strategy. There should be no alliance between the two OBC castes, so SP had written the story of victory against Kurmi through Nishad and against Nishad through Maurya Samaj. Not only this, by fielding Thakur Ramveer Singh in the Kundarki seat, the BJP managed to consolidate the Muslim votes, especially the Rajput Muslim votes. By fielding Mithilesh Pal in the Meerapur seat, RLD completely failed in the equation between SP and BSP.
BJP leaders and workers had made all-out efforts to ensure that their votes reached the polls, while SP and opposition voters could not vote in equal numbers. Due to this, the BJP hoisted the flag in the seats it held as well as in the two seats won by the SP in 2022. Apart from this, the BJP also managed to bloom the lotus in the seat held by the Nishad Party.
