Uttar Pradesh to witness direct contest between BJP-I.N.D.I.A. bloc

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh, with 80 Lok Sabha seats, appears to be set for a direct contest between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party (SP)-Congress, which are part of the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc with the BSP expected to make it a triangular fight only in pockets.

While the BJP's hopes to fulfill its dreams of crossing the 400 plus tally this time hinges mainly on UP, the SP-Congress alliance too will go all out to reduce the saffron party's tally in the state to prevent it from returning to power for the third straight term.

BJP, which had won 62 LS seats in the state on its own in the 2019 general elections, has taken a lead over its rivals by announcing its candidates on 51 seats. The party has left six seats for its alliance partners-Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Nishad Party, Apna Dal and the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP)-which were predominantly caste based outfits having influence in pockets of the state.

BJP, which will be banking heavily on prime minister Narendra Modi, who is again in the fray from Varanasi, and the firebrand saffron clad UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, to make its dream of winning all the 80 seats in the state come true, has already launched its election campaign with Modi launching a slew of developmental projects and addressing a series of public meetings in the state before the announcement of the election dates on Saturday.

The saffron party also feels that the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple has created a 'wave' in its favour in the state as well as in the country. ''With Lord Rama's blessings we will win all the 80 seats in UP,'' said senior party leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak.

In the 2022 assembly polls in the state, the saffron party had secured 42 per cent votes and won 325 seats with its alliance partners but it failed to breach the SP bastions in the eastern and in some parts of the western regions of the state. This time, however, the BJP has RLD, a predominantly 'Jat' outfit, as an alliance partner to improve its performance in the western districts.

In the last general elections in 2019, the SP and the BSP had an alliance and the latter not only won 15 seats together but had also given a tough fight to the BJP on more than a dozen LS seats. This time however SP and BSP are pitted against each other, which may give some advantage to the BJP.

The SP, which had fared comparatively better in the 2022 assembly polls and had polled an impressive 32 per cent votes, would be looking to increase its vote share this time after its alliance with the Congress. "We will counter the BJP by taking up issues like exam paper leaks, the old pension scheme, farmers' issues and inflation," said SP leader Rajendra Choudhary.

For the BSP, the election would be a do or die battle. Its electoral performance has been on the decline since 2007, when it had formed a government in UP on its own winning 206 of the 403 assembly seats and securing 30.43 per cent votes.

In the 2012 assembly poll in UP, the BSP secured 25.19 per cent votes and its tally of seats came down to 80. BSP's vote share declined further to 22.23 per cent and its seats came down to 19 in the 2017 assembly poll. In the assembly poll held in UP in 2022, BSP fared dismally and could win only one seat and its vote share stood at a meagre 12.9 per cent.

The BSP was expected to make the fight triangular in pockets, especially where its candidates were strong.