Lucknow: The stage is set for bypolls in nine assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday with stakes high for both the BJP and the Samajwadi Party in the first electoral contest after the Lok Sabha polls.
While the Congress is not contesting and supporting its INDIA bloc partner Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party is fighting all nine seats on its own.
Polling will be held in Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki. Votes will be counted on November 23.
Of the nine assembly seats, eight fell vacant after their MLAs, including SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, were elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls. One seat fell vacant after the SP MLA from Sisamau (Kanpur), Irfan Solanki, was convicted in a criminal case and sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
Although the bypolls in UP involve only nine assembly seats, political observers predict a fiery contest, given the high stakes for the BJP, especially after the unexpected setback it suffered in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the party’s seat count dropped significantly. Moreover, the bypolls are also being seen as a curtain-raiser for the upcoming 2027 UP assembly polls.
“It is not just a bypoll; it’s a battle of prestige for the BJP, which is striving hard to avenge the loss it suffered in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” said Shashikant Pandey, a political observer and head of the department of political science at Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow.
The bypoll-bound constituencies include Ghaziabad, Khair (Aligarh), Kundarki (Moradabad), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Phulpur (Allahabad), Katehari (Ambedkarnagar), Sishamau (Kanpur), Karhal (Mainpuri), and Majhawan (Mirzapur). These seats reflect a cross-section of the state’s diverse political and regional dynamics.
In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the SP won four of these seats — Sishamau, Katehari, Karhal, and Kundarki. The BJP had also claimed four constituencies — Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, and Khair. Meerapur, the ninth seat, was won by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), then in alliance with the SP, but now part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The BJP has fielded Ramvir Singh Thakur from Kundarki, Sanjeev Sharma from Ghaziabad, and Surendra Diler from Khair. Anujesh Yadav will be contesting the bypolls from Karhal, while Deepak Patel has been fielded from Phulpur, Dharmraj Nishad from Katehari and Suchismita Maurya from Majhawan.
The Samajwadi party has fielded Tej Pratap from Karhal (Mainpuri), Naseem Solanki from Sisamau (Kanpur), Haji Rizwan from Kundarki (Moradabad), Shopbhawati Verma from Katahri (Ambedkar Nagar), Mustafa Siddiqui from Phulpur Seat (Parayagraj), Jyoti Bind from Manjhawa (Mirzapur), Charu Kain from Khair, Singh Raj from Ghaziabad and Sumbul Rana from Meerapur.
KARHAL (MAINPURI) FIGHT
Of others, the battle for Karhal (Mainpuri) is said to be a key contest. Considered an SP stronghold, the constituency has seen Yadav’s dominance, with the SP president vacating the seat after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Kannauj.
The SP has now fielded Tej Pratap, a former MP from Mainpuri, nephew of Akhilesh Yadav, and son-in-law of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
On the other hand, the BJP, aiming to make inroads into this fortress, has fielded Anujesh Yadav, the brother-in-law of SP MP Dharmendra Yadav, setting up a family battle in Karhal.
Anujesh Yadav, a former zilla panchayat office-bearer and loyal BJP worker since 2017, remains optimistic about his prospects. “With a BJP win, Karhal will see development like never before,” he said.
Bypolls were initially scheduled for 10 seats in UP, however, the Election Commission of India announced elections only for nine seats, excluding Milkipur. The counting will be on November 23.
