NEW DELHI: BJP and SP are ramping up their campaigns, with BJP deploying 30 ministers and 15 senior leaders, while SP assigns Milkipur seat to Awdhesh Prasad.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) have intensified their efforts for the upcoming by-elections for 10 vacant assembly seats in the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha. Both, the BJP-led NDA and the SP-led I.N.D.I Alliance are aiming to secure as many of these seats as possible.
The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has assigned 30 ministers and 15 senior leaders as caretakers for the 10 Assembly seats set to undergo by-elections in the coming month, coinciding with the Assembly elections in Haryana, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra. Their role is to address any unresolved issues and secure the party’s victory. The ministers are responsible for addressing administrative grievances in these constituencies, while the senior party leaders are tasked with motivating the dissatisfied party members and workers who remained inactive during the Lok Sabha elections for various reasons.
Similar to the BJP, its main opposition in the state, SP, along with its ally Congress, has also intensified efforts to replicate their strong performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the UP by-polls. To achieve this, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has appointed Faizabad MP Awdhesh Prasad as the in charge of the Milkipur Assembly seat, which Prasad himself vacated after being elected to the Lok Sabha, defeating BJP’s sitting MP Lallu Singh.
Additionally, SP has appointed Shivpal Yadav as the in-charge of the Katehari seat in Ambedkarnagar district. Chandauli MP Virendra Singh has been assigned the Majhawan seat in Mirzapur district. Akhilesh Yadav’s close associate, Chandradev Singh Yadav, has been given the responsibility of the Karhal seat, while party MLA Indrajeet Saroj has been made in charge of the Phulpur seat in Prayagraj district. Similarly, party MLA Rajendra Kumar has been tasked with overseeing the Sisamau seat, which was vacated following the disqualification of SP MP Irfan Solanki.
A party insider said that the in charges for the remaining four seats—Kundarki in Moradabad, Khair in Aligarh, Meerapur in Muzaffarnagar, and Ghaziabad Sadar—will be announced soon. Additionally, SP and Congress will jointly contest the Assembly by-polls on 10 seats. However, the details of the seat-sharing arrangement between the two parties have yet to be finalised, with the final decision resting with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Similarly, the grand old party, an ally of the Samajwadi Party (SP), has also announced the names of in charges for all 10 Assembly seats to work in coordination with their SP counterparts. UP Congress chief Ajay Rai, has appointed Amethi MP K.L. Sharma for Sisamau (Kanpur), Saharanpur MP Imran Masood for Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Sitapur MP Rakesh Rathore for Kundarki (Moradabad), Barabanki MP Tanuj Punia for Ghaziabad, and Prayagraj MP Ujjawal Raman Singh for Phulpur (Prayagraj). Additionally, party MLA Virendra Chaudhary has been named the in charge for Majhawan, senior party leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui for Katehari, former MLA Akhilesh Pratap Singh for Milkipur, former MLA Rajkumar Rawat for Khair, and Ramnath Sikarwar for Karhal.
On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken charge of Milkipur and is personally overseeing the poll preparations there. He has already made at least two visits to the Assembly segment in the lead-up to the by-election. In addition to Milkipur, Yogi is also managing the campaign efforts in the Katehari Assembly seat, vacated by sitting SP MLA Lalji Verma, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Ambedkarnagar.
Further to intensify the competition for the Samajwadi Party, BJP has deployed four ministers—Surya Pratap Shahi, Girish Yadav, Satish Sharma, and Mayankeshwar Singh—in the constituency. Senior leaders MLC Awanish Kumar and Pushpendra Pasi are also stationed there. These ministers and leaders are actively engaged in door-to-door campaigns, and a war room has been set up to support the campaign’s needs.
Similarly, BJP has deployed four ministers in Kundarki (Sambhal), three in Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), three in Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), three in Ghaziabad, and four in Majhawan (Mirzapur). Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh has been assigned the Phulpur Assembly seat, while BJP State Vice President Brij Bahadur Bhardwaj, Tourism Minister Jayveer Singh, and Yogendra Upadhyay have been deployed in Karhal (Mainpuri).
Of the 10 Assembly seats, Kundarki, Milkipur, Katehari, Karhal, and Sisamau were vacated by the Samajwadi Party (SP), while Meerapur was held by an RLD MLA. Meanwhile, BJP vacated the Khair, Ghaziabad, and Phulpur seats. The remaining seat, Majhawan, was vacated by a NISHAD Party MLA, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhadohi on a BJP ticket.