In the by-election to the Ghosi Vidhan Sabha seat in the Mau district of Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress initially declared its support, followed by the Indian Communist Party – Marxist (CPI-M) and Marxist Communist Party (MCPI) from the opposition alliance INDIA, which includes the Samajwadi Party (SP), declared their support for Samajwadi Party candidate Sudhakar Singh. However, if we look at the results of the previous assembly election, this declaration doesn’t seem to have a significant impact on this by-election. In the 2022 assembly elections, the Congress candidate received only two thousand votes.
In this election, a face-off is expected between the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Now that the BSP candidate is not contesting, the votes that would have gone to them will likely play a crucial role in determining the outcome, based on electoral figures.
The by-election in the Ghosi Vidhan Sabha seat of Uttar Pradesh is being viewed as more than just a routine election because it is being seen as a semi-final for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Political parties believe that the atmosphere for the Lok Sabha elections can be set through this by-election. Hence, both the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and INDIA, which includes the Samajwadi Party and others, are vigorously campaigning in the region.
The seat had fallen vacant after Dara Singh Chauhan, who had won as a Samajwadi Party candidate in the previous assembly election, resigned from his membership. In the 2022 assembly elections, when Dara Singh Chauhan contested on the Samajwadi Party ticket, he received 108,430 votes. Meanwhile, BJP candidate Vijay Rajbhar received 86,214 votes, and BSP candidate Vasim Iqbal received 54,248 votes.
Clearly, the BSP voters play a crucial role in this seat. Therefore, the Samajwadi Party is looking to attract Dalit votes, and the BJP is making efforts to consolidate the OBC votes, considering the changed political dynamics with Dara Singh Chauhan and Om Prakash Rajbhar joining their respective parties.
In summary, the Ghosi Vidhan Sabha by-election in Uttar Pradesh is being closely watched as it has implications for both state and national politics.
