BJP and SP Secure Two Seats Each in Uttar Pradesh Assembly Bypolls

In a recent political development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) emerged victorious in two seats each in the assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh. The Election Commission announced these results on Tuesday, marking a significant moment in the state's political landscape. The bypolls were conducted alongside the Lok Sabha elections, engaging the state which contributes 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, across all seven phases of the general elections.

In the Lucknow East assembly seat, BJP's O.P. Srivastava triumphed over Congress's Mukesh Kumar by a margin of 53,887 votes. Srivastava garnered a total of 1,42,928 votes, while Kumar received 89,061 votes. The Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Alok Kushwaha stood at 8,323 votes in this contest. Another BJP candidate, Arvind Kumar Singh, secured victory in the Dadraul assembly constituency of Shahjahanpur district by defeating SP's Awadhesh Kumar Verma by 16,795 votes. Singh received 1,05,972 votes against Verma's 89,177 votes, with BSP's Sarvesh Chandra Mishra obtaining 20,742 votes.

On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party saw success in the Gainsari and Duddhi constituencies. In Gainsari, Balrampur district, SP's Rakesh Kumar Yadav won against BJP's Shailesh Kumar Singh Shailu by a margin of 9,437 votes. Yadav secured 87,120 votes to Shailu's 77,683. BSP's Fida Baba received 16,983 votes in this race. Similarly, in the Duddhi assembly bypoll of Sonbhadra district, reserved for Scheduled Tribes, SP's Vijay Singh emerged victorious over BJP's Sarwan Kumar by 3,208 votes.

Circumstances Leading to Bypolls

The necessity for these bypolls arose from various circumstances. The Lucknow East seat became vacant following the demise of BJP MLA Ashutosh Tandon in 2023. Tandon was a three-time legislator and had served as a minister in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s first government. The Dadraul seat was up for election after BJP MLA Manvendra Singh passed away on January 5 due to a prolonged illness. Singh had switched from Congress to BJP in 2017 and retained his seat in the 2022 elections.

The Gainsari constituency required a new election after the death of SP MLA Shiv Pratap Yadav on January 26. Yadav had been a four-time MLA from Gainsari, starting his political career with the Lok Dal. Lastly, the Duddhi seat became available after BJP’s Ramdular Gond was disqualified following his conviction in a rape case.

These bypolls have not only filled vacant seats but also reflected the competitive political dynamics within Uttar Pradesh. With a total of 403 members in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, these results contribute to shaping the legislative landscape of India’s most populous state.