UP bypolls: Yogi Adityanath wins ‘battle of popularity’ against Akhilesh
Yogi Adityanath wanted to prove to the BJP central leadership that he was still the most popular leader in UP and was capable of leading the party in the state
Nearly five months after the Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can now breathe a sigh of relief in Uttar Pradesh, as it won seven of the nine seats in the just-concluded by-elections in the state.
The nine seats that went to bypolls became a personal battle for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who wanted to prove to the BJP’s central leadership that he was still the most popular leader in Uttar Pradesh and was capable of leading the party in the state.
Personal victory for Adityanath
The bypoll results are a personal victory for Adityanath. He had been campaigning in the state for the past four months, since the conclusion of the Lok Sabha polls. The results are also significant because the BJP-led NDA had five of these nine seats earlier, but this time, it has managed to win seven, wresting Kundarki and Katehari from the Samajwadi Party (SP).
“If we look at the elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has won all elections since 2014. The people of the state elected SP in the 2012 Assembly polls, but since then, Akhilesh Yadav has not won any election,” BJP spokesperson Alok Awasthi pointed out to The Federal.
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“The BJP defeated Akhilesh in 2014 and 2019 general elections and 2017 and 2022 Assembly polls. It is true that the BJP did not perform well in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024 but these bypolls are like a course correction by the people of the state,” he added.
Four-month-long preparation
The victory in the bypolls is a significant step for the NDA that faced continuous criticism after winning only 36 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in the general elections earlier this year.
“The BJP has been preparing for these elections for the past four months. All political parties started their campaign just one month before the assembly bypolls but Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took it upon himself to ensure a victory for the BJP,” Awasthi added.
Battle for Ayodhya
The completion of the nine bypolls in Uttar Pradesh will now lead to the only remaining bypoll in Milkipur, which is an assembly constituency in Ayodhya. The seat became vacant after SP leader Awadhesh Prasad became a Member of Parliament from Faizabad in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
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Having lost the Faizabad seat to SP in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP is now hoping to win the Milkipur seat, as both constituencies are in Ayodhya district. “We are confident of winning the Milkipur seat; we are prepared for the election. People of Uttar Pradesh have rejected Akhilesh Yadav and they will again reject SP in Milkipur,” Awasthi said.
Milkipur has now become a prestige issue between Adityanath and Akhilesh. While Adityanath wants to win back the Ayodhya seat from SP, Yadav is hoping to retain SP’s dominance in the assembly seat.
No space for Mayawati
Political analysts believe Uttar Pradesh politics has become a direct contest between the BJP and the Akhilesh Yadav-led INDIA bloc with little or no space left for Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
“The consolidation of Hindu votes has worked for the BJP in the elections and it will further help the BJP in the Milkipur bypolls as well. The BJP has managed to convince the people that SP leaders only work for a couple of communities whereas the BJP enjoys the support of people of all communities,” SK Dwivedi, retired political science professor of Lucknow University, told The Federal.
