Mixed results for BJP allies in U.P.
RLD emerged victorious in both seats it contested while the Apna Dal (S), Nishad Party, and SBSP manage to win a seat each.
The BJP’s allies had mixed results in the Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha elections, with Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) performing exceptionally well, winning both the seats it contested.
The RLD joined hands with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) only a few months prior to the polls and fielded candidates on two seats-Baghpat and Bijnor. The party achieved a 100% strike rate by winning both the seats.
RLD’s Rajkumar Sangwan won Baghpat, the party’s traditional seat, by defeating Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Amarpal while its sitting MLA Chandan Chauhan emerged victorious in the Bijnor constituency, defeating SP’s Deepak.
The Apna Dal (S), an ally of the BJP since 2014, contested two seats but secured victory in only one. Party chief Anupriya Patel emerged victorious in the Mirzapur seat for the third consecutive term. She defeated SP’s Ramesh Chand Nishad. However, the party faced defeat in the Robertsganj seat, where SP’s Chhote Lal prevailed over Rinki Singh.
The Nishad Party contested in Bhadohi and Sant Kabir Nagar and managed to secure a win only in Bhadohi with Vinod Kumar Bind defeating All-India Trinamool Congress’s Laliteshpati Tripathi. However, party founder Sanjay Nishad’s son, Pravin Kumar Nishad, lost the Sant Kabir Nagar seat to the SP’s Laxmikant Pappu Nishad.
The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), another ally of the BJP, suffered a defeat in Ghosi, losing to SP’s Rajeev Rai. This outcome dashed SBSP chief and Yogi Adityanath government minister Om Prakash Rajbhar’s hopes of launching his son, Arvind Rajbhar, into electoral politics. Notably, both the Nishad Party and the SBSP contested on the BJP’s symbol, whereas the RLD and the Apna Dal fielded candidates using their own symbols.
