Uttar Pradesh holds 80 Lok Sabha seats, making it a crucial state for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won 71 seats in 2014 and 62 in 2019. The BJP and the Samajwadi Party (SP) are leading the seven-phase elections. The BSP is led by four-time Mayawati, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, is taking a solo approach while facing decline. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is collaborating with another regional organisation to increase their visibility. Several sub-regional organisations, mostly supported by a specific caste group in a confined area, are forming coalitions with other parties to gain autonomy. The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which has a significant support among the agrarian Jat population in western Uttar Pradesh, has given the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) a boost. The RLD has previously fought against the Centre’s farm policies. The BJP may reach out to certain subaltern populations through several platforms, including Apna Dal (Sonelal) led by Anupriya Patel, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) led by Om Prakash Rajbhar, and Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (NISHAD) led by Sanjay Nishad.
The Mahan Dal, led by Keshav Dev Maurya, has joined the INDIA bloc alongside the SP and Congress. Some parts of Other Backward Classes, including Mauryas, Shakyas, and Kushwahas in central and eastern Uttar Pradesh, encourage the outward movement. In the 2022 Assembly votes, the SP created a rainbow coalition with numerous sub-regional parties. However, two of its previous partners, the SBSP and the RLD, have since joined the NDA. A group of the Apna Dal has formed an alliance with AIMIM. Both the front and the SP-Congress axis want to build a coalition of backwards, Dalits, and Muslims to challenge the Hindutva consolidation behind the BJP. However, previous efforts have been ineffective. The BSP is facing extinction as its leaders join other parties and its social base dwindles. U.P. politics remains divided by caste, religion, and area, despite the BJP’s consolidation efforts over the past decade. The State is home to the most aggressive style of BJP politics, and the party intends to reap gains from the opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, winning more seats in the State than in 2019. To be considered a serious alternative at the national level, the opposition must win a significant number of seats in Uttar Pradesh.
ABHISHEK VERMA
Author: This news is edited by: Abhishek Verma, (Editor, CANON TIMES)
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