Ghosi by-poll: BJP rolls out all its resources to win battle of prestige

Lucknow: With three days left for voting, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has mobilized all its resources for the Ghosi assembly by-poll which is being termed as the first direct contest between the opposition parties led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath will address a public meeting in Ghosi on Saturday in support of party candidate Dara Singh Chauhan. The polling will be held on September 5 and votes will be counted on September 8.

The Ghosi by-poll is a prestige issue for the BJP, as it had lost the seat in the 2022 assembly elections. Dara Singh Chauhan who contested on SP ticket, had defeated BJP candidate Vijay Kumar Rajbhar. Now with Dara back in the BJP camp, the party is making all-out effort to wrest the seat that it won in the 2017 assembly elections.

Over 12 ministers, senior BJP leaders and office-bearers are camping in the constituency, moving from one village to another and canvassing for the party candidate. The top leaders of the BJP alliance partners- Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), NISHAD Party and Apna Dal (S ) have also moved with their cadre on the battle ground to wrest the seat for the NDA.

Aware that caste would be a decisive factor in deciding the fate of the candidates, the BJP has assigned the task to the ministers accordingly to woo the members of their caste in support of the party candidate. Meetings are being organized at panchayat, block and tehsil levels to win the support of the various castes.

The two deputy chief ministers, Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya, have addressed a series of meetings. While the meetings of Pathak were organized in the upper caste or Brahmin-dominated areas, Maurya addressed meetings in the Other Backward Class (OBC)-dominated areas. Jal Shakti minister Swatantradev Singh and Anil Rajbhar also addressed public meetings in OBC-dominated areas.

To win the support of the upper caste Bhumihar community whose votes would be decisive, energy minister AK Sharma (who is a native of Mau district) and agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi campaigned in the Bhumihar-dominated areas. Abhinav Sinha, son of Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha also campaigned in support of the BJP candidate.

With the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) not in fray, the tilt of the Dalit votes will be crucial in deciding the fate of the candidates. Women welfare minister Baby Rani Maurya and social welfare minister Asim Arun have addressed public meeting to win the support of the Dalits. The BJP has also roped in transport minister Daya Shankar Singh and cooperative minister JPS Rathor to woo the upper caste Rajput community.

The BJP is also wooing Muslim voters on the turf of gangster –turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari who is behind the bars. Muslims form the second biggest voter group in Ghosi, comprising 90,000 voters. Minority welfare minister Danish Azad Ansari addressed meetings in the Muslim-dominated areas of the constituency.

The ministers and senior BJP leaders participated in the ‘Prabuddh Sammelan’ organized by the party on August 28. Addressing one such meeting, BJP state unit president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary said the faith of the Muslim community had increased in the BJP government. The double engine government had launched several welfare schemes and Muslims were getting the benefits of all the schemes.

Out of 4.4 lakh voters, over 1.5 lakh are Other Backward Classes (OBCs). They include 60,000 Rajbhars, 40,000 Chauhans and 40,000 Yadavs. The second biggest group of voters is of Muslims who are roughly 90,000. There is also a sizable number of Dalits (roughly 60,000). The constituency has around 77,000 upper caste Hindus ( 45,000 Bhumihars, 16,000 Rajputs and 6,000 Brahmins).