UP: For bypolls, BJP ropes in 13 ministers, 24 leaders for groundwork

The bypolls will be held in Gangoh, Iglas, Tundla, Govind Nagar, Manikpur, Hamirpur, Lucknow Cantonment, Zaidpur, Balha (all won by the BJP in 2017), Pratapgarh Sadar (Apna Dal-Soneylal), Rampur (SP) and Jalalpur (BSP).

While 11 of these seats will go to bypolls because of the recent election of sitting MLAs to the Lok Sabha, there was a vacancy in Hamipur after BJP MLA Ashok Singh Chandel was sentenced to life imprisonment in a 22-year-old murder case.

Rampur assigned to Dinesh Sharma.

“As these bypolls are going to be in held in the middle of the five-year term of BJP government in the state and the results would be seen as a reaction to the performance of Adityanath’s rule, the party has chosen both senior ministers and leaders from party organisation for a balanced preparation. At least one minister, on organisation office-bearer and one vistarak from the party has been engaged in each Assembly constituency,” a BJP leader said.

“The ground cadre has become relaxed after the Lok Sabha polls victory and we have to reactivate them. We will hold a meeting with booth committees of mandal, booth and sector units, will listen to grievances of local workers, and address them. Feedback will be taken about anti-incumbency — if there is any — to resolve it timely with the help of government,” said a party leader in-charge of a constituency.

He said necessary changes in the local organisation will also be made considering the social equations.

Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya has been deputed in Govind Nagar where sitting MLA and former UP minister Satyadev Pachauri was elected as the Kanpur MP.

Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma has been given charge of SP stronghold Rampur where senior SP leader Azam Khan, who was elected MLA in 2017, recently got elected as MP.

In Balha (Scheduled Caste) segment of Bahraich district, BJP has deputed two ministers — Ramapati Shastri (a Dalit) and Upendra Tiwari (a Brahmin) — considering local caste equations.

These ministers and other leaders were informed of their tasks in a recent party meeting held in the presence of Adityanath and BJP’s UP chief and Union minister Mahendra Nath Pandey.

Meanwhile, the BSP and SP earlier announced to contest these bypolls separately. SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, “Party president Akhilesh Yadav has decided to contest bypolls and local units of the party in these constituencies have been asked to make a report of ground situation.”