UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav | PTI | Samajwadi Party
Early trends on counting day showed the BJP leading on as many as 7-8 seats against Samajwadi Party leading on just 1-2 seat in UP assembly bypolls. If the early trends hold, this would be a massive boost for the BJP in UP where the party could only manage an underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha elections.
Katehari, Karhal, Mirapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki seats went to polls in the bypolls.
This is the first electoral contest in the state after the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress is not contesting these bypolls and has lent support to the Samajwadi Party, its INDIA bloc ally. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is contesting on all nine seats solo.
Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has fielded candidates from Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Mirapur while Chandrashekhar Azad-led Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) is contesting on all seats except Sisamau.
The results of the bypolls, however, will not have any impact on the health of the BJP-led state government in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly. At present, the BJP has 251 members in the House followed by the Samajwadi Party’s 105.
