UP Assembly Bypolls: Deputy CMs Join Yogi Adityanath's Team, CM Takes It Upon Himself To Win Seat In Ayodhya

Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath on Monday (5 August) held the third meeting for the upcoming by-polls for 10 assembly seats.

For the first time, Deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak took part in the meeting for by-polls, suggesting that a complete reconciliation has happened.

Notably, Maurya was seen distancing himself from Adityanath's meetings since the Lok Sabha election results but came along with the CM when the assembly session started.

This might have been the result of the intervention of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders.

The two deputies taking part in the meeting have also been assigned responsibilities for the by-polls. Maurya has been given the relatively safer seats of Phulpur and Majhawan in Mirzapur district.

Phulpur had a BJP MLA, who won the Lok Sabha election from Phulpur, while Majhawan had an MLA from the BJP-ally NISHAD party, who won the Lok Sabha election on the BJP ticket from Bhadohi.

Maurya has been given these seats because he hails from eastern UP. Pathak has been given the responsibility of Samajwadi Party (SP) seats Sisamau and Karhal.

Sisamau in Kanpur was vacated following the conviction of SP MLA Haji Irfan Solanki, while Karhal was vacated due to SP national president Akhilesh Yadav's election to the Lok Sabha from Kannauj.

Adityanath has taken it upon himself to avenge the BJP's loss in Faizabad, which is commonly called Ayodhya in the political discourse.

The Milkipur seat in the Ayodhya district was vacated due to the election of Awadhesh Prasad to Lok Sabha from Faizabad. After taking responsibility for this seat, Adityanath has already left for Ayodhya.

He will review development projects and the law and order situation in the district by meeting with officials and public representatives. He will also meet BJP functionaries and review the probe in Ayodhya rape case.

Prasad's close aide and SP leader Moeed Khan has been accused of raping and impregnating a 12-year-old girl from the Nishad community. However, instead of taking action against Khan, SP has demanded a DNA test.

Adityanath has also taken responsibility for the Katehari seat in Ambedkar Nagar district, which was vacated by SP's Lalji Verma after winning the Lok Sabha election from Ambedkar Nagar.

Of the remaining four seats, two each have been assigned to BJP's UP president Bhupendra Chaudhary and party general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh.

Earlier, Adityanath had assigned three ministers each to the 10 assembly seats. They gave feedback to the UP CM in the meeting.

Adityanath asked them to maintain better coordination with BJP functionaries, spend time on the ground and keep communication channels open for the people.

Teams are being formed with caste equations in mind, and inactive workers are being reactivated. Adityanath has specifically instructed leaders to counter false narratives with factual information.

To choose candidates, the BJP is using public feedback. In contrast, the SP plans to nominate relatives of leaders who vacated seats: Awadhesh Prasad's son Ajit in Milkipur, Lalji Verma's daughter Chhaya in Katehari, and Akhilesh Yadav's relative Tej Pratap in Karhal.

Of the 10 vacant seats, five had an SP MLA, three had a BJP MLA and BJP allies Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and NISHAD party had one MLA each.

The BJP wants to win a maximum of these 10 seats to avenge the 2024 Lok Sabha election loss, where it could win only 33 seats, down from 62 in 2019.

The SP became the largest party in UP and the third-largest party in the country by winning 37 seats. Its ally Congress won six seats in the state.