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Close on the heels of the Haryana election victory, the BJP has shortlisted names for the coming Assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh, leaving ally NISHAD Party jittery. The Sanjay Nishad-led party wants to contest two of the 10 bypolls, the dates for which have not yet been announced.
Sources said the BJP, on a stronger footing since the Haryana win, had decided to contest nine constituencies and wants the NISHAD Party candidate to be fielded under its lotus symbol. “One seat will be given to the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). A decision on the NISHAD Party has not been taken yet but we hope its candidate will contest on our symbol,” said a BJP insider.
Another senior BJP leader also confirmed that candidates for the bypolls had been shortlisted. “We invited names from the districts and discussed them at the state level. The list of shortlisted candidates will be soon sent to the central leadership, who will also take a decision on the alliance,” said the leader.
Sanjay Nishad said the BJP had not yet held meetings with allies. “I will most likely meet Union Home Minister (Amit Shah) in the next few days. Till something is communicated to us, we remain confident of contesting two seats, Majhawan and Katehari,” he said.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Majhawan MLA Vinod Bind contested the Lok Sabha elections from Bhadohi on a BJP ticket and won. The BJP has claimed that it indicates its popularity in the Assembly segment even as its ally disagrees. “The Majhawan seat must remain with us and a NISHAD Party candidate can contest on our symbol,” said a BJP insider.
However, NISHAD Party leaders said Majhawan and seats such as Katehari, Phulpur, and Milkipur have a significant Nishad vote that the BJP will find difficult to win without it.
“The BJP cannot stake claim to the Katehari Assembly seat as it has never won from here. Moreover, to boost the morale of our workers in other seats, it is important that our candidates contest on our symbol and we hope the BJP understands this,” SanjayNishad said. The Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have won Katehari for the past three decades.
The RLD, however, is confident that it will be given Meerapur. Its candidate Chandan Chauhan won the seat in the 2022 Assembly polls but resigned as MLA after winning the Bijnor Lok Sabha constituency in the recent parliamentary elections.
While nine of the 10 Assembly seats are heading for bypolls after their representatives won in the recent Lok Sabha polls, Sisamau will see a by-election as its sitting SP MLA, Irfan Solanki was disqualified after being convicted in a 2022 arson case. In 2022, of the 10 seats — Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Khair, Kundarki, Karhal, Phulpur, Sishamau, Milkipur, Katheri and Majhawan — the SP won five, the BJP three, the RLD and the NISHAD Party one each.
