UP bypolls: SP to unleash aggressive campaigning soon after festive season

Lucknow: With the by-elections for nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh scheduled for November 13, election campaigning is yet to pick up pace.

The Samajwadi Party (SP), buoyed by its recent success in securing 37 Lok Sabha seats in the last Parliamentary elections, appears to be trailing behind the BJP in terms of campaign efforts. Although the BSP is also in the fray, the by-polls are expected to be a direct contest between the SP and the ruling BJP.

The BJP, which had made early preparations, appointed in-charge ministers for each assembly seat back in July, long before the elections were announced. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already visited every constituency at least once, and the party has deployed deputy chief ministers, in-charge ministers, MLAs and MPs to coordinate efforts in each seat. While the BJP has gradually ramped up its campaign across all nine constituencies, the SP’s activities are largely visible only in the Karhal seat, a stronghold of the Yadav family.

The Karhal constituency, part of Mainpuri district, fell vacant following the resignation of Akhilesh Yadav. The SP has fielded his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav — who is also Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son-in-law — as its candidate. The Yadav family has shown strong support, with Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav leading campaign efforts in Karhal and Akhilesh making appearances in the constituency. However, the SP’s presence is less pronounced in the remaining eight seats, giving the BJP an edge in terms of visibility and outreach.

Shivpal Singh Yadav, assigned as the in-charge for the Katehari seat, is expected to begin his campaign after the Diwali festival. SP insiders suggest that the party plans to deploy senior leaders, MLAs and MPs to each of the nine seats after the festive season.

Currently, the SP has 37 MPs and 105 MLAs, but with seven MLAs switching allegiance to the BJP, the party’s effective strength in the assembly has dropped to 98. Additionally, two of its MLAs — Jahid Baig and Ramakant Yadav — are currently in jail.