Stage set for Phase 2 Lok Sabha polls in eight west Uttar Pradesh constituencies

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance will be on test in the eight Lok Sabha constituencies in West Uttar Pradesh that go to polls on Friday in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election.

The BJP- RLD alliance is striving for total dominance in the region that has been its stronghold while the SP- Congress hamoved in its legion of leaders and cadres to breach the saffron fort.

The BJP bagged seven of these seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election — Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Mathura. The result gave a jolt to the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in constituencies where its core support base of Muslim- Dalit-Jat voters play a decisive role. The only solace for the opposition was that the Bahujan Samaj Party managed to win the Amroha seat.

The BJP has fortified its position in the 2024 Lok Sabha election by allying with the RLD that wields political influence over Jats. Among the eight seats, the BJP allotted Baghpat to the RLD.

To regain lost ground, the SP has tied up with the Congress and the alliance is working on Muslim-OBC formula.

The SP has fielded candidates on Meerut, Baghpat, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Aligarh seats, leaving Amroha, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad and Mathura to the Congress.

The BSP has decided to go solo and fielded upper caste, Muslim and OBC candidates on the eight seats.

The second phase will decide the fate of former Union minister Mahesh Sharma (BJP), who is seeking a third term from Gautam Buddh Nagar, “Ramayan” fame actor Arun Govil (BJP) in Meerut, and actress Hema Malini, who is seeking third term on the BJP ticket from Mathura. Other key contestants include former Uttar Pradesh minister Atul Garg (BJP) in Ghaziabad, former mayor Sunita Verma (SP) in Meerut seat and sitting MP Danish Ali (Congress) in Amroha.

AMROHA

The constituency has a tradition of changing winners in successive Lok Sabha elections. It is set to witness a three- cornered contest among sitting MP Danish Ali (Congress), Kanwar Singh Tanwar (BJP), and Dr Mujahid Hussain (BJP). There are 32% Muslim, 19% Dalit and 12% Jat voters in the constituency.

In 2019, Danish Ali won the seat on the BSP ticket.

MEERUT

A BJP stronghold, Meerut is set to witness a three-cornered contest between BJP’s Arun Govil, SP’s Sunita Verma and BSP’s Devvrat Kumar Tyagi. There are 23% Muslim, 22% Dalit, 15% Jat and 18% upper caste (Brahmin- Rajput- Vaishya) voters in the constituency.

The BJP has been winning this seat since 1996, losing to the Congress in 1999 and the BSP in 2004.

The BJP’s Rajendra Agrawal won the seat three times in a row in 2009, 2014 and 2019 but was replaced with Govil in 2024. Prime Minister Narendra Modi kick- started the BJP campaign in UP from Meerut on March 31.

BAGHPAT

A strong RLD fort, the constituency is set to witness a keen contest among RLD candidate Rajkumar Sangwan, SP’s Amarpal Sharma and BSP’s Praveen Baisala. There are 23% Jat, 19% Muslim, 21% Dalit, 11% Gujjar and 16% upper caste voters in the constituency.

Former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh had won the seat thrice in 1977,1980 and 1984 while Ajit Singh bagged the seat in 1989, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2004 and 2009. Satya Pal Singh (BJP) won the seat in 2014 and 2019.

GHAZIABAD

The Ghaziabad Lok Sabha seat is set to witness a contest between BJP candidate Atul Garg, Congress nominee Dolly Sharma and BSP’s Nandkishor Pundhir. The BJP replaced two-term MP General VK Singh (Retd) with Atul Garg, a Vaishya party MLA from Ghaziabad. There are 15 % Muslim, 14% Brahmin, 6% Tyagi, 12% Rajput, 11% Jat and 19% Dalit voters in Ghaziabad.

GAUTAM BUDDH NAGAR

The business hub of Uttar Pradesh, Gautam Buddh Nagar sent BJP candidate and former Union Minister Mahesh Sharma twice to Lok Sabha in 2014 and 2019. Sharma is in the fray on the BJP ticket for a third term. He is facing a challenge from the SP’s Rahul Awana, a Gujjar, and the BSP’s Rajendra Singh Solanki, a Rajput. The Muslims constitute 12% of the voters, Dalits 20%, Gujjars 10%, Jats 7%, Rajputs 12%, Brahmins 17% in the constituency.

BULANDSHAHR

A reserved constituency, Bulandshahr is all set for a three- cornered contest among BJP candidate Bhola Singh, who won the seat in 2014 and 2019, the BSP’s Girish Chandra Jatav and the Congress’s Shiv Ram Valmiki.

The BJP has been winning the seat since 1991 except in 2009 when Kamlesh Valmiki won the seat on the SP ticket. In 2004, former chief minister Kalyan Singh won the seat for the BJP.

ALIGARH

The prestige of the BJP- RLD alliance is at stake in Aligarh. BJP candidate Satish Gautam (Brahmin) is in the fray for a third term after winning the seat in 2014 and 2019. There are 19% Muslims, 21% Dalits, 16% Brahmins, 13% Rajputs and 14% Jats in the constituency. The BSP has fielded a Brahmin candidate Hitendra Kumar aka Bunty Upadhyay, a former BJP leader. The SP has nominated former Congress MP Bijendra Singh who won the seat in 2004.

MATHURA

Known as the land of Lord Krishna, Mathura, a prominent religious center in the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh, has been a BJP bastion since 1991. BJP candidate Hema Malini won the seat in 2014 and 2019. She is pitted against Mukesh Dhangar of the Congress and Suresh Singh of the BSP this time. There are 22% Jat, 20% Dalit, 9% Muslim, 12% Rajput, 14% Brahmin and 7% Yadav voters in the constituency.