Bypolls nearing, UP BJP tries to set house in order: Dy CMs, state chief brainstorm strategy with CM

This time, both Deputy CMs — Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak — were in attendance, as well as the BJP’s state president Bhupendra Chaudhary.

The meeting comes days after the party and state government sought to clear the air over the Nazul Properties Bill, which was passed by the Legislative Assembly but put on hold in the Legislative Council and then sent to a select panel for
recommendations.

The government claimed that the decision was “unanimously” taken after the CM spoke to the two Deputy CMs and Bhupendra Chaudhary, who is a member of the Legislative Council, too. After the Bill was cleared by the Assembly, where CM Adityanath is the leader of the house, it was put on hold by the Legislative Council, where too the BJP has majority and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is the leader of the house. This move had again led to talks of “differences” within the party and the government.

However, sources said that in the meeting chaired by the CM on Monday to discuss the preparations for the bypolls, several other organisational leaders in the BJP as well as a number of state ministers were present.

“The notification for bypoll is yet to be announced but before that, the organisation needs to be strengthened till the booth level. Considering the recent Lok Sabha poll results, work needs to be done at the booth level. Thus, discussion took place regarding this in the presence of the CM, both the Deputy CMs as well as leaders at the organisational level,” said UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary, who also attended the meeting.

Asked if any specific responsibilities were assigned to him or the deputy CMs, Chaudhary said, “All of us would monitor and camp in the regions (going to polls). Before the work begins on the ground, first the organisation structure, booth structure needs to be set right.”

Amid speculation that CM Adityanath would personally take over responsibility of Ayodhya and Ambedkarnagar, he began a two-day visit to Ayodhya on Tuesday. He visited the Ram Temple, offered prayers at Hanuman Gari temple and also held meetings with the party’s organisational leaders.

The 10 seats that will vote in the bypolls are Milkipur in Ayodhya, Karhal in Mainpuri (vacated by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who has become Member of Parliament), Khair in Aligarh, Katehri in Ambedkarnagar, Kundarki in Moradabad, Phulpur in Prayagrah, Ghaziabad in Ghaziabad, Majhwan in Mirzapur, Meerapur in Muzaffarnagar and Sisamau in Kanpur.

Of these, the maximum – five – were won by the SP, including Milkipur in Ayodhya, where MLA Awadhesh Prasad has now become MP from Faizabad, while three were won by the BJP, one each were won by the Rashtriya Lok Dal and Nishad Party – both of which are are NDA alliance partners at present.

The BJP, which lost Milkipur in the 2022 Assembly polls, is focusing on winning it back in a bid to make up for the 2024 Lok Sabha loss in Faizabad.

Meanwhile, the SP too has started contemplating the candidates on these seats, especially Faizabad, where sources say that Awadhesh Prasad’s son Ajit Prasad is “frontrunner.” Although the Congress and the SP are yet to finalise a seat-sharing arrangement for the coming bypolls, it is clear that the seats won by SP in 2024 will again go to the party, including Milikupur, and the Congress will support the SP candidate.

Later in the day, in Ayodhya, Adityanath reviewed the preparations for the Milkipur Assembly bypoll with the party’s election in-charges, laying emphasis on booth management.He directed the leaders to establish contact with every family regarding the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign of the party (from August 13-15) and urged them to expose the “double standards of the opposition” before the public

He pointed out that the workers should connect with the common people and take development issues to the people.

State Ministers Surya Pratap Shahi, Satish Chandra Sharma, Girish Chandra Yadav and Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh were also present during the review meeting. Taking the organisation along, the BJP’s district president Sanjeev Singh, district general secretary Raghavendra Pandey, presidents of the five divisions, in-charges, as well as district presidents of all fronts were part of this meet in Ayodhya.