Considered to be the stronghold of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), lucknow East Vidhan Sabha Constituency is witnessing close fight between BJP and Samajwadi Party (SP).
In Vidhan Sabha Election 2012, the BJP won single seat in lucknow which was lucknow East. Senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra won the seat with 68,726 votes which was 36.31 percent of total polled votes. SP candidate, Juhie Singh was runner up with margin of nearly 20,000 votes.After the then BJP MlA Kalraj Mishra was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) in recent lok Sabha Elections 2014, the seat became vacant.
Not loosing heart and support from the party, SP candidate Juhie Singh has again locked horn with BJP candidate but this time its Former BJP MP lalji Tandon’s son, Ashutosh Tandon ‘Gopal ji’. While Juhie Singh and Ashutosh Tandon both are brimming with enthusiasm and are sure about their victory, but its not going to be a cakewalk for both of them. As the constituency is flooded with the problems like lack of basic amenities and poor infrastructure despite being an urban constituency.
There is one more Congress Candidate Ramesh Srivastava who got 35,227 votes in Assembly Election 2012 from the same constituency. In terms of politics, Srivastava should be considered senior as he had entered into mainstream through student union politics around 20 years back.
Being Vidhan Sabha By-elections, the candidates are focusing on local issues like roads, drains, and infrastructure and development projects. As the constituency is one of Urban Constituency and presence of large Female voters, the candidates are laying emphasis on women security and law and order issues.
Increasing anti-incumbency against SP due to poor law and order in the city as well as state, the SP candidate might face the ire of voters. However, BJP doesn’t seem to be much comfortable too because of recent by-polls result of Uttarakhand.Another important point about constituency is the presence of large youth force which has attracted the attention of candidates. They have been mentioning their “Special Agenda” for the youths. SP candidate Juhie singh wants to open Skill Development Centres for them while
Congress Candidate Ramesh Srivastava wants to spread awareness about lucknow as educational hub to attract companies and jobs for youths.
Voter and Polling station data:
* Total Voters: 4,15,558
* Male Voters: 2,21,893
* Female Voters: 193157
* Service Voters: 508
* Polling Stations: 75
* Polling Booths: 364
Results of Previous Vidhan Sabha Election 2012:
Party Candidate Votes
* BJP Kalraj Mishra 68,726
* SP Juhie Singh 47,908
* Congress Ramesh Srivastava 35,227
* BSP Krishna Tripathi 28,040