Uttar Pradesh is gearing up to celebrate Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s birthday, which falls on June 5, with anticipated resounding victory in the Lok Sabha elections and assembly bypolls held in the state. With most of the exit polls indicating the National Democratic Alliance’s landslide victory, people are looking forward to the results to be announced on June 4.
According to an official spokesman of the government, in a significant show of support, the people of Uttar Pradesh seem ready to present Chief Minister Yogi with victories in all four contested assembly by-elections, marking a celebratory prelude to his special day.
In the last bypolls, the Bharatiya Janata Party won three of these four seats, and the Samajwadi Party won one. The voters supported Chief Minister Yogi’s development work by voting for the BJP in the Gola Gokarannath, Rampur and Chhanbey assembly seats.
It is noteworthy that the BJP defeated SP in Rampur, previously considered the stronghold of SP leader Mohammad Azam Khan. Under Chief Minister Yogi’s leadership, a considerable amount of development works have been carried out across 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Rampur.
The voters of Uttar Pradesh pressed the electronic voting machine (EVM) button in favour of BJP’s development work. In the 2022 assembly elections, Manvendra Singh had won from Dadraul on the BJP ticket. After his death, the party fielded his son, Arvind Singh, in the by-election for whom Chief Minister Yogi campaigned.
The Lucknow East assembly seat became vacant following the death of MLA, former cabinet minister and BJP stalwart Ashutosh Tandon ‘Gopal’. Subsequently, the party nominated OP Srivastava for this seat. Chief Minister Yogi also sought people’s support for him during his rally.
In the general elections, the Dudhi seat in Sonbhadra saw voters’ support for BJP candidate Ramdular, but the seat became vacant, necessitating a byelection. The chief minister campaigned twice for BJP candidate Shravan Kumar Gond.
Following the death of SP MLA Shivpratap Yadav from the Gainsari assembly constituency, BJP nominated former MLA Shailesh Kumar Singh Shailu for the by-election. Chief Minister Yogi also campaigned for him, highlighting the development works undertaken by the government.
By-elections were conducted for the Gola Gokarannath, Rampur, Swar Tanda, and Chhanbey assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. Following the death of MLA Arvind Giri, the BJP nominated his son Aman Giri from the Gola Gokarannath seat. Chief Minister Yogi urged the public to support the BJP, resulting in Aman Giri’s victory and his subsequent journey to Lucknow.
In Swar Tanda, BJP’s ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) expressed confidence in Shafiq Ansari, and in Chhanbey, after the death of Apna Dal (S) MLA Rahul Kol, his wife Rinki Kol received the ticket. Chief Minister Yogi not only asked for votes for the allied candidates but also chalked out strategy for their victory. As a result, both these by-election seats were won by the allied party.
On December 8, 2022, in the Rampur by-election, ten-time MLA Azam Khan’s stronghold fell, and Akash Saxena won. In the legislative council by-elections, the BJP continued its success. After the seats were vacated due to the appointment of Laxman Acharya as Governor and the death of Banwari Lal Dohre, BJP’s Padmasen Chaudhary and Manvendra Singh won.
The 2022 Lok Sabha by-elections in Rampur and Azamgarh showed the impact of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s effective leadership. In Rampur, BJP’s Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi wrested the seat from SP by securing 3,67,397 votes (51.96 per cent), while SP got 3,25,205 votes (46 per cent). The BJP received 293 postal votes, and SP got only 149. After Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi’s victory, Chief Minister Yogi reached there to express his gratitude to the people, performing the duty of the chief.
In the June 2022 Azamgarh Lok Sabha by-election, BJP candidate and popular Bhojpuri singer/actor Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirahua’ defeated SP candidate Akhilesh Yadav’s kin Dharmendra Yadav. Thanks to Chief Minister Yogi’s unbiased work, Dinesh Lal Yadav received 3,12,768 votes (34.39 per cent), while Dharmendra Yadav got 3,04,089 votes (33.44 per cent). The SP received 252 postal votes, and the BJP got 336.
