Lucknow, Feb 18 The decision of the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) to go separate ways in the bypolls for two Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh may have brightened the BJP’s prospects of retaining these seats even as the saffron party claimed it would rely on its hardwork and strength.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav today announced the name of the party contestant from Gorakhpur and said the candidate for Phulpur will be declared shortly. The Congress has already named its nominees for both the high-profile constituencies.
Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha constituencies were vacated by Chief Minister Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya respectively, after they became members of the UP Legislative Council.
For the BJP, Gorakhpur assumes significance as it is the bastion of Adityanath, who has represented it in Lok Sabha five times. Prior to Adityanath, Gorakhpur was thrice represented in the Parliament by his mentor Avaidyanath.
Phulpur, on the other hand, was once the bastion of the Congress, and represented by first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It had for the first time witnessed a saffron surge in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, when Maurya emerged victorious.
“We can clearly see that opposition votes will split with both the SP and the Congress in the fray. However, we will contest on our strengths, and emerge victorious. We believe that the hard work of the party workers will definitely help us to clinch victory on both the seats,” UP BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla told PTI here today.
Source: PTI
