UP bypolls: BJP candidates ahead in four seats

Lucknow: The BJP was leading in four seats while the Samajwadi Party was ahead in two of the nine assembly seats for which bypolls were held, according to Election Commission trends on Saturday.

The trends in the other three seats were yet to be reflected.

While BJP candidates are leading in Kundarki, Khair, Sisamau and Majhawan seats, the SP candidates have an edge in Karhal and Phulpur.

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the BJP won the Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair seats, while the SP secured victories in Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which was an SP ally then, won the Meerapur seat. The party has since switched sides and is now a part of the BJP-led NDA.

While the Congress did not contest the bypolls, it extended support to the SP, its INDIA bloc ally.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested all nine seats independently, while Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded candidates in Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Meerapur.

The Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), led by Chandrashekhar Azad, also contested all seats except Sisamau.

In the current Assembly, the BJP has 251 MLAs, followed by the SP (105). BJP allies, such as Apna Dal (Sonelal), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and NISHAD Party, hold additional seats, while the Congress and the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik have two seats each and the BSP has one.