CM to round off BJP’s campaign blitzkreig in LS polls on June 21

Lucknow: The outcome of Lok Sabha bypolls in Rampur and Azamgarh seats scheduled for June 23 are expected to test not only the poll-preparedness but also the popularity of the ruling BJP, which is locked in yet another electoral battle with its principal challenger, the Samajwadi Party in UP.

While the parliamentary polls are a ‘battle of prestige’ for the SP, which has won both the seats in the past, the BJP is going full steam to breach the SP bastion and set the tone for 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The BSP is in fray in Azamgarh only. With just five days to go to polling, the ruling party in a campaign blitzkreig has galvanised its party cadres and more than a dozen ministers to ensure the victory of its candidates. According to party sources, 15 ministers of the government would visit Rampur by June 20 with chief minister Yogi Adityanath scheduled to give the last minute push to the party’s prospects on June 21.

The CM will hold public meetings for the party’s candidate in Mursena and Maswasi. The party has fielded former MLC Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi from Rampur. The two Lok Sabha by-elections is a litmus test for the SP as it faces the challenge of holding on to its number two position in the state. They will also decide the future of the BSP which is desperately trying to make a comeback on to the centre stage of UP politics. Surprisingly, neither Akhilesh Yadav nor Mayawati have yet campaigned for their candidates. The Azamgarh seat was vacated by Akhilesh Yadav who chose to retain his Assembly seat in March this year. His cousin and former MP Dharmendra Yadav is contesting the seat. Akhilesh, on Thursday night, issued an appeal to the voters in both the constituencies to vote for his party.

The SP has the highest stakes in these by-elections since both, Azamgarh and Rampur were held by SP. The Bahujan Samaj Party is playing a spoiler for SP in Azamgarh where it has fielded Guddu Jamali, a popular local leader who is likely to wean away Muslim votes. Azamgarh has a sizeable Yadav and Muslim population and any dent in these vote banks could upset the apple cart for SP. Samajwadi Party’s Maharashtra unit president Abu Asim Azmi is leading the party’s campaign in Muslim-dominated areas of the district. Besides, the BJP has fielded Bhojpuri star Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua who had lost to Akhilesh in 2019 in Azamgarh. The BJP campaign is supported by the presence of other Bhojpuri stars, including Manoj Tiwari, a BJP MP, and Akhilesh’s absence is now emerging as a major factor in the constituency The outcome of the election now depends on how well the BSP candidate performs.