In high-pitched UP bypoll campaign, BJP takes hardline ride, SP eyes ‘PDA, unity’ gains

In a no-holds-barred attack, Akhilesh went on to claim, and that too repeatedly, that those within the BJP are working to remove Yogi Adityanath from the post of chief minister.

CM Adityanath, who has been aggressively campaigning in other election-bound states as well, had directly taken control of the bypolls on the nine seats in UP, covering each seat at least twice before and after the poll notification was issued.

His statements such as “jahan dikhe Sapayi, wahan bitiya ghabrai (daughters are scared to venture out in the presence of SP leaders and workers)”, and that the SP is a “production house” of criminals drew sharp reactions from the Opposition party.

The CM launched the campaign by talking about how “peace cannot be one-sided” and that there will be no hurdles in celebrating Eid or Christmas only if Diwali is celebrated with joy.

He went on to repeat his controversial remark cautioning the voters, saying, “Batenge to katenge”, citing the “hardships and struggles” in the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the Kashi corridor after ages because of the unity shown by people.

He also banked on his often-repeated claims of having rid the state of communal riots and curfews, and crimes against women. “No curfew, no danga, UP mein sab changa” (all is well in UP since there are no curfews or riots),” he would claim at his party’s rallies.

Confident and reassured in the wake of his party’s impressive show in the Lok Sabha elections, Yadav would declare with an elan as how the SP was able to stop the BJP juggernaut and make it the number 2 party in UP.”

He barely shied away from taking constant jibes at Adityanath, claiming that he would lose his chair soon after the Maharashtra poll results are declared. On Sunday, Yadav, campaigning for his party candidates in the Katehari and Majhawan Assembly constituencies, claimed, “Lucknow aur Dilli wale engine takra rahe hain aapas mein. Iske tamaam udahran hain. Abhi tak sarakar apna DGP appoint nahi kar payi hai kyonki Dilli ka engine kisi aur ko aur UP ka engine kisi aur ko chahta hai (There is a conflict between the Centre and the state government. There are several instances of this. The government has not been able to appoint its own DGP since the Centre wants to appoint an official of its choice to the post).”

Amid a war of words between the two top leaders, the candidates are hoping to ride on local caste equations and sympathy votes as both the BJP and the SP made attempts to gain more seats in the first election after the Lok Sabha polls early this year.

Also, the SP hopes to gain more ground in the state, calling it an election which will set the stage for the 2027 Assembly polls.

The nine seats polling on November 20 include Ghaziabad, Meerapur, Kundarki, Khair and Sisamau in central UP with a significant minority and Dalit population; Katehri, Phulpur and Majhawan in east UP with sizeable vote share of OBCs and Dalits; and Karhal.

While the BJP decided to give the Meerapur seat to the RLD, the SP is contesting all the seats on its own symbol since its INDIA bloc partner Congress decided not to contest the bypolls.

In 2022, four of these nine seats — Kundarki, Karhal, Sisamau and Katehri — were won by the SP; while Phulpur, Ghaziabad and Khair were bagged by the BJP.

One seat each — Meerapur and Majhawan — was won by the allies RLD and the NISHAD party.

The BSP, which usually avoids contesting the bypolls, has also taken a plunge by fielding its candidates. But unlike Akhilesh and Adityanath, party supremo Mayawati did not participate in the campaign directly and left it to her nephew Akash Anand.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Chandrashekhar Azad-led Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) are also trying their luck on a few seats, in a bid to gain minority and Dalit votes. Even Akhilesh tried to reach out to the minority community by visiting veteran SP leader Azam Khan’s family amid the poll campaign in west Uttar Pradesh.