LUCKNOW: The high-stakes bypoll to 10 assembly segments is a litmus test for both the NDA which suffered a huge setback in the Lok Sabha elections in the state and the INDIA bloc which faces the challenge of consolidating its position in UP after an emphatic comeback in the recent polls.Moreover, the outcome of the bypolls to 10 assembly seats, necessitated by the victory of sitting MLAs in the Lok Sabha elections, will not only be decisive for the political atmosphere of the state but will also set the tone for the 2027 Assembly elections.The BJP-led NDA dwindled to 36 seats from 64 in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party won 37 seats, its highest Lok Sabha tally ever, and the Congress raised its tally from one in 2019 to six of the 17 seats it had contested.The NDA, which had sitting MLAs in five of the 10 seats up for grabs, will try its best to breach some of the strongholds of the opposition bloc, especially the SP which had sitting MLAs in the other five seats. It would certainly give a much-needed boost to the ruling alliance energising the cadre and helping it to overcome the disappointment.If the ruling alliance fails to give an impressive performance, it could be taken as a referendum on the performance of Yogi Adityanath as his prestige will be at stake and it could intensify ongoing rumblings in the BJP. If the INDIA bloc continues its victory trail in the bypolls as well, its game plan to oust the BJP government from power in 2027 will get a boost.While the Lok Sabha election was contested by the NDA in Modi’s name based on Amit Shah’s strategy, the responsibility of putting up a robust show in the bypolls will be entirely on the UP CM who has been under the scanner for the Lok Sabha debacle in the state.However, Yogi, getting into poll mode, has already appointed a team of 30 ministers to oversee poll preparations in the 10 assembly constituencies. The ministers have been directed to visit constituencies regularly, interact with local people and party workers and redress grievances on priority.A group of three ministers has been constituted and each group was allotted one constituency.On the other hand, the INDIA partners — SP and Congress — have also commenced deliberations over seat-sharing for the upcoming challenge as both the parties have decided to contest the bypolls also in alliance.Even the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), in a departure from its traditional stand of not contesting bypolls, has said it would field candidates in all the 10 seats making the contest three-cornered.Mayawati had reinstated her nephew Akash Anand as the party’s national coordinator and had announced in June that Akash would lead the byelection campaign. Nine assembly seats, including Karhal, Katehri, Kundarki, Khair, Manjhwa, Meerapur, Milkipur, Phulpur and Ghaziabad Sadar, have been vacated after the sitting MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha.The Sisamau seat was vacated following the disqualification of sitting SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who has been awarded a seven-year jail term by a court in a criminal case. In the 2022 assembly election, the Samajwadi Party bagged five of these seats – Karhal, Katehri, Kundarki, Milkipur and Sisamau. The BJP won three seats — Khair, Phulpur and Ghaziabad Sadar. The NDA ally RLD, who was then with the SP, won Meerapur and the NISHAD party bagged the Manjhwa seat.However, this time, the BJP’s allies are demanding a bigger share of the seats. While the RLD is demanding three seats, the NISHAD party is also trying to go beyond one.
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