Assembly by-polls in UP an acid test both for CM Yogi Adityanath and the Opposition

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his party on one hand and Opposition parties on the other are facing an acid test during the forthcoming by-elections for eight assembly seats, as their results may well set the mood for the Assembly polls in 2022.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his government are under more pressure as out of eight seats going for the polls, six were won by BJP and two by Samajwadi Party.

BJP would be under pressure not only to retain the six seats but also capture two more seats from Samajwadi Party to show the popularity of the government as well as the party.

The performance of Yogi Government would be at stake during these by-elections. BJP would seek votes for the performance of Narendra Modi government at the Centre as well as the Yogi Government.

It would be worth mentioning that BJP had won in Unnao, Tundla, Deoria, Naugao Sadat in Amroha, Ghatampur of Kanpur and Bulandshahr.

Two seats of BJP were vacated due to death of two ministers Kamla Rani Varun and Chetan Chauhan.

Similarly Samajwadi Party and its national President Akhilesh Yadav are under pressure to retain their seats at Swar in Rampur and in Malhani in Jaunpur. Both seats are very prestigious for Samajwadi Party as in Swar the election was set aside due to bogus age certificate of SP MLA who is the son of powerful leader Mohd Azam Khan, now in jail.

Similarly in Makhani, Parasnath Yadav was MLA who had won record six times and twice MP. This seat fell vacant due to Yadav’s death.

Akhilesh Yadav is also under pressure from his supporters to retain his party’s seats and capture more from BJP.

Congress and BSP have nothing to lose but if they gain any seat, it would boost the morale of the concerned party.

Congress has also taken these elections very seriously. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is in touch with senior leaders and has set up high power panels for each Assembly constituency to find out better candidates.

The Opposition would highlight the performance of government during the pandemic, corruption, rise in crime against women, growing unemployment and anti-farmer policies of Central government.