Another intense battle of ballots is expected between the BJP and the united opposition with the Election Commission declaring the dates for by-election to Kairana lok Sabha seat and Noorpur Assembly seat on Thursday.
Polling for the by-polls will be held on May 28 and the results will be declared on May 31.
The by-election in Kairana lok sabha seat was necessitated by the death of sitting BJP MP Hukum Singh while Nurpur Assembly seat was vacated after two-time BJP MlA, lokendra Singh died in a car accident on the lucknow-Agra expressway while he was on way to lucknow to attend Investor’s Summit on February 21.
The bypolls will be another test of opposition unity after Gorakhpur and Phulpur where the BJP candidates were pumelled by united opposition candidates.
The Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party might combine again to pull the rug from under the feet of Chief Minister Yogi.
It would be interesting to see whether the Congress becomes a part of this alliance or not as in Gorakhpur and Phulpur, the party fielded its own candidates.
Election to Kairana seat is likely to throw many questions for opposition unity as Rashtriya lok Dal (RlD) has asked the opposition parties to support its national general secretary Jayant Chaudhary for the seat. But till date, neither Akhilesh Yadav nor Mayawati have thrown a favorable hint towards RlD’s choice.
The Jat dominated Parliamentary seat of Kairana in Shamli has been a stronghold of Ajit Singh’s RlD and leaders believe that the united opposition should opt for the RlD.
On the other hand, the BJP will have to redraw its strategy to retain the seat. Sources say that party may field late Hukum Singh’s daughter Mriganka Singh and scoop the dividends of emotional wave. In 2017 Assembly pol,, Mriganka had contested the Kairana Assembly segment but lost.
“Much water has flown down the river since 2017. Situations have changed. The BJP will win this seat and that is for sure,” state BJP general secretary and in-charge of west UP, Vijay Bahadur Pathak