BSP trying tested caste formula for UP bypolls

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is working on the tested caste formula to grab the seats from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and arch-rival Samajwadi Party in the bypolls for eight assembly seats.

The Election Commission of India will announce the dates for the bypolls on Tuesday after a review meeting.

BSP has decided to field Muslim candidates on the three seats in the Rohilkhand region- Suar (Rampur) Naugawan Sadat (Amroha) and Bulandshahar where the vote of the Muslim electors is crucial in deciding the fate of the candidates. It has decided to field Dalit candidates on the two reserved seats - Ghatampur and Tundla. The party will field candidates belonging to upper caste Brahmin, Rajput and Backward community on the remaining three seats.

BSP chief Mayawati has given a green signal to the bye-election campaign strategy in a meeting with the senior leaders in Delhi. She screened the candidates whose names were forwarded by the sector in-charges on various seats. After her approval the sector in-charges have started announcing the name of the candidates in the meeting with the party workers for the respective seats.

BSP national general secretary, Satish Chandra Mishra has launched the party election campaign with addressing public meetings. He addressed a public meeting in Tundla on Sunday. To woo the upper castes, particularly the Brahmin community voters, Mishra is organising the meetings of the Brahmin community across the state.

The BSP has mobilized its resources for the bypolls that is considered to give an indication of the voters’ mood before the 2022 assembly election. Mayawati is regularly collecting feedback from the party office bearers. The BSP is keen to give a comeback message to the voters by opening its account in the bypolls. Among the eight seats going to bypolls, six seats were held by BJP and two by SP.

“If BSP wins one or two seats it will rejuvenate the party cadre before the assembly election,” said a BSP leader.

BSP sector in-charges have announced names of Kuldeep Sankhwar on Ghatampur seat, Abhay Nath Tripathi on Deoria seat, Mahesh Pal on Bangarmau seat, Sanjiv Kumar on Tundal seat, Shafiq Ansari on Suar, Haji Yunus on Bulandshahar and Furqan Ahmed on Naugawan Sadat seat.

Meanwhile, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has announced that it will field candidates in all the eight assembly seats.

AIMIM, state convenor Shaukat Ali said in a meeting on Sunday that the central leadership of the party has given its approval to contest the bypolls.

Dilshad Ahmed will contest from Bulandshahr seat, the candidates on the remaining seven seats will be finalized soon, he said.

“The decision of the AIMIM to contest the by-poll is likely to upset the strategy of the SP, Congress and BSP. The AIMIM enjoys support among the Muslim voters in West and East UP,” said, Ashok Kumar Sinha, a political observer.