In Uttar Pradesh, the political mercury always keeps rising. Months after the assembly elections, the focus is now on the crucial Lok Sabha by-elections to be held in Azamgarh and Rampur on June 23. Both the seats are considered Lok Sabha bastions. Samajwadi Party (SP), one party president Akhilesh Yadav and the other party’s veteran leader Azam Khan. But, notice of differences between the two leaders, whose by-elections to the state assembly were necessary, may have implications for the outcome of the battle in Rampur.
A senior SP leader said both the seats were equally important for the party and the candidates would be selected after detailed discussions. “The party knows the importance of seats and hence we are working on a strategy to win both of them,” he said.
for BJP, the bypolls provide an opportunity to further consolidate its dominance in the state and will see its 2014 performance in two seats – it put in a strong fight in Azamgarh and Rampur won – to the impetus. A BJP leader said the ruling party would not allow the bypolls to be an “easy fight” and would “fight for every vote”.
The SP’s dominance in Azamgarh is evident from Akhilesh’s 60 per cent vote share when he won the constituency in 2019 by defeating his nearest rival BJP’s Dinesh Lal Yadav “Nirhua”. The Bhojpuri singer was successful in getting 35.1 percent votes.
Akhilesh improved upon the performance of his father and SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav five years ago, when he managed to remain in the seat amid nationwide support.Narendra Modi Lehar got 35.43 percent votes, while BJP’s Ramakant Yadav got 28.85 percent votes. Ahead of this year’s state elections, 64-year-old Ramakant switched to SP and contested from Phulpur-Powai seat in Azamgarh district. Ramakant’s son Arun Kumar Yadav had won the constituency on a BJP ticket in 2017 but was not fielded by the ruling party.
While the two main parties are yet to announce their candidates, Mubarakpur’s two-time MLA Shah Alam “Guddu Jamali” could become a factor by eroding the SP’s Muslim vote base. Alam unsuccessfully contested the recent election from the Azamgarh district seat for the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), but returned Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), his former organization, soon. A thriving and popular businessman, Alam is likely to be the BSP candidate in Azamgarh.
Azam vs Akhilesh
Rampur is crucial for the political future of Azam Khan, who was released from Sitapur jail last month after more than two years. Since his release, the veteran SP leader has indicated that he is not happy with Akhilesh. Even while in jail, he did not meet a SP delegation and an aide hit out at the SP chief for ignoring “Muslim issues”.
Before Azam’s release, it was being speculated in the political circles that there was a difference of opinion between him and Akhilesh over this seat. While Azam reportedly wanted someone from the family to replace him, the SP chief had apparently proposed that it should go to someone outside the Khan family.
Like Azamgarh, Rampur has a large Muslim population, an important factor for Azam’s dominance in the district. In the state elections, the veteran leader contested the Rampur assembly seat from jail and won it for the 11th time with a vote share of 59.71 per cent. it was with him
Won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with 52.71 percent votes. In 2014, BJP’s Naipal Singh surprised everyone by defeating SP’s Naseer Ahmed Khan from this seat.
The notification for the bypoll was issued on May 30 and the results would be declared on June 26, three days after the polling.