Vikrant Shekhawat : Oct 24, 2024, 02:20 PM
Assembly By Elections: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its candidates for the by-elections to be held on 9 assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh. BJP has announced the names of its candidates on 7 out of 8 seats, while Sisamau seat has been kept on hold for the time being. In this election battle, BJP has adopted a strategy to counter the SP's PDA (Backward, Dalit, Minority) formula, betting big on Dalits and backward classes. BJP has laid out its caste chessboard by fielding Dalit and OBC candidates on 5 out of 7 seats.Candidates announced: An attempt to balance caste equationsThe seats on which BJP has announced candidates for the by-election include Sanjeev Sharma from Ghaziabad Sadar, Surendra Diler from Khair, Ramveer Singh from Kundarki, Suchismita Maurya from Manjhwa, Deepak Patel from Phulpur, Dharmaraj Nishad from Katehari, and Anujesh Pratap Yadav from Karhal. However, the candidate for Sisamau seat has not been announced yet. Meerapur seat has gone to Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which is one of the allies of BJP.BJP's caste chessboard: Special emphasis on OBCIn this by-election, BJP has selected candidates keeping in mind the caste equations. The party has fielded four OBC candidates, which include representation of four different castes of OBC community. Apart from this, one candidate each is from Brahmin, Thakur, and Dalit community. Under this strategy, BJP has challenged SP's PDA formula. By giving ticket from OBC category, BJP has tried to strengthen its position, while by fielding two candidates from upper caste, it has also maintained balance.Yadav vs Yadav contest in KarhalBy fielding Anuj Pratap Yadav from Karhal seat, BJP has tried to break into SP's Yadav vote bank. Anuj is the brother-in-law of SP MP Dharmendra Yadav. SP has fielded Mulayam Singh Yadav's grandson Tej Pratap Yadav on this seat. BJP can benefit in case of scattering of Yadav votes in Karhal. In 2002 also, BJP had won here by fielding a Yadav candidate, and this time again the same strategy is expected to be repeated.Kurmi vs Nishad game in KatehariBJP has given ticket to Dharmaraj Nishad from Nishad community on Katehari seat, while SP has fielded Shobhavati Verma of Kurmi community. Votes of both Kurmi and Nishad communities play a decisive role in Katehari. By fielding a Nishad candidate, BJP has challenged the caste strategy of SP and has tried to create an atmosphere in its favour on this seat.Manjhawa: Maurya vs BindBJP has fielded former MLA Suchismita Maurya on Manjhawa seat, while SP has given ticket to Jyoti Bind. Votes of Maurya, Bind and Brahmin community are important on this seat. In 2017 also, BJP had won here under the same caste equation, and this time also the party is relying on the same formula.Kurmi bet in PhulpurBJP has fielded Deepak Patel from Phulpur seat, while SP has fielded Mujtaba Siddiqui. SP is trying to woo the Yadav-Muslim vote bank here, while BJP has focused on its core vote bank by fielding a Kurmi candidate. BJP has won here on the basis of this caste equation in the 2017 and 2022 elections and is repeating the same strategy once again.Brahmin-Thakur-Dalit equationBJP has tried to woo Brahmin, Thakur and Dalit vote banks along with OBCs. Sanjeev Sharma from Brahmin community has been fielded from Ghaziabad Sadar seat, while Surendra Diler has been fielded from Khair seat, which is reserved for Dalits. BJP has given ticket to Ramveer Singh from Kundarki seat, who comes from Thakur community. Kundarki is a Muslim dominated seat, where SP has fielded Haji Rizwan. The contest between Ramveer Singh and Haji Rizwan has once again become interesting.Counter to SP's PDA formulaThese by-elections in Uttar Pradesh are being considered as the semi-finals of the 2027 assembly elections, and the BJP has formulated its strategy keeping this in mind. The party has fielded Dalit and OBC candidates on 5 out of 7 seats to counter the SP's PDA formula. General category candidates have been given only on two seats.ConclusionThe BJP has very intelligently prepared its caste strategy in this by-election. To counter the SP's PDA formula, the BJP has tried to manage its core vote bank as well as OBC and Dalit votes. The results of the by-elections can play an important role in deciding the direction of the 2027 assembly elections, and the BJP has taken full care of the caste balance in every seat to ensure its victory.