In Bhagwanpur Assembly by-election slated for April 11 the cadre votes of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are being sought after by both the Congress and BJP candidates. On the instructions of BSP supremo Mayawati the party has not fielded its candidate for the seat which was won by it last time. The Bhagwanpur by-election is necessitated after death of Transport Minister Surendra Rakesh who was elected on BSP symbol in the Assembly elections of 2012, Rakesh, joined hands with People’s Democratic Front (PDF) which supported in formation of Congress Government in the State. However just before the lok Sabha elections Rakesh parted ways with his party BSP. In the assembly elections of 2012, Rakesh polled 36,828 votes while Congress candidate Satyapal Singh secured 30,047 votes. The BJP was reduced to distant third with its candidate Suresh Rathore securing only 10,650 votes.
The BSP has a good support base among Schedule Caste population which constitutes about 25 per cent of total electorate of Bhagwanpur. The party supporters feel that BSP should have fielded its candidate in the Bhagwanpur and many of them are of view that by deciding to abstain from the election the party has offered the seat on a platter to Congress candidate Mamta Rakesh, the widow of Surendra Rakesh. However some believe that with his clean image the BJP candidate Rajpal Singh would also be able to make a good dent into the traditional voters of BSP.
They are of view that supporters of Satyapal Singh are so annoyed with Congress that they could actually help the BJP candidate to vent their anger. The State President of BSP Chattar Pal Singh told The Pioneer that the party has decided not to support any candidate in Bhagwanpur. He said that the cadre of the party however is free to support the candidate of their choice.