Lucknow, June 24: Few  Assembly by-elections attract as much attention as have twelve in Uttrar Pradesh which will go to polls before  the end of this year.All the three major political players,the BJP,the SP and the BSP , have met and discussed strategies to win these by-elections.
While the SP and the BSP had talked about it earlier, the ruling party held a long discussion over them on Sunday.None would leave any stone unturned and,it seems, all of them will  put everything at their command to win them.
Significance is being attached to these elections because of two reasons.First,the BSP which has been keeping itself out of these elections has also decided to contest them.Second,the SP has been left  alone by the BSP and it has to prove its metal.
Though the BSP has been blaming the SP itself for doing poorly in the recently held Lok Sabha elections,the fact remains that the BSP has gained much from the alliance with the party.It had drawn a blank in 2014 and from “zero it has become a hero”.It has done much better than the previous polls  by bagging 10 seats.
These elections have to be held for  two reasons.Eleven by-polls have to be held because of election of members to the Lok Sabha.The twelfth (Hamirpur)seat has fallen vacant because of disqualification of  elected member,Ashok Singh Chandel.He has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in connection with a criminal offence.
Eight of these Assebly seats were won in the previous poll ( 2017) by the BJP.Its ally Apna Dal had captured two others.The remaining. Jalalpur and Rampur seats were held by the BSP and the SP,respectively.Â
Clearly, the BJP has much at stake.Also because it has spoiled the SP,BSP game-plan  and captured 62 seats out of the total 80 in the Lok Sabha elections.If the opposition wrests any of these Assembly seats it will have  a lot of explaining to do. The rivals will get a talking point.
The BSP is likely to fire all cylinders to capture most of the seats.The party has done poorly in three elections in a row,2012 Assembly elections,2014 Lok Sabha elections and 2017 Assembly elections.It has not done as badly in  this year Lok Sabha elections and would be happy if the winning spree continued.
Not only will it improve its tally in the state Assembly from 19 but rejuvenate the party workers who are  worried because shrinking party base.Excepting Jatavs,most of other Dalits seem to have deserted the party.
Better performance by the SP in these elections will give Akhilesh Yadav ( party president) a booster-dose.The party could not improve its tally in 2019 general elections despite alliance with the BSP. A better showing will put him in a different light.
Under the present Act, by-elections have  to be held within six months of  vacancies caused  by death,disqualification or election to the Lok Sabha,which means they have to be held by the  midd of December.
The seats which have fallen vacant are:Lucknow Cantt ,Allahabad, Â Govind Nagar,Tundla,Pratapgarh,Kairna,Chitrakoot,Barabanki,Bahraich,Hathras,Rampur and Hamirpur.
