Why did Akhilesh’s tension increase after Congress dropped 10 seats?
There is a very famous proverb in the villages of Uttar Pradesh – Na Khelab, Na Khela Deb, Khelye Bigdam. Meaning, neither you play nor let anyone play, you spoil the game. Ahead of the by-elections to 10 assembly seats in UP, the Congress is moving on a similar strategy.
Amid talks of an alliance with the Samajwadi Party, the Congress has appointed in-charges and observers on all 10 seats. It is being said that if there is no talk of an alliance with the SP, the Congress will fight the elections alone.
Seats where the UP Congress has fielded strong in-charges include Milkipur, Sisamau, Katehri and Kundarki. The Samajwadi Party won these seats in the 2022 elections.
Elections are proposed for 10 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh in October-November, where the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party will face each other directly.
Congress made who in charge of which seat?
1. Former Rajya Sabha MP PL Punia has been made in-charge of Ayodhya’s Milkipur (reserved) seat. Lok Sabha candidate Akhilesh Prasad Singh from Deoria has been made an observer.
2. State President Ajay Rai himself will be in charge of Mazwan seat of Mirzapur. Sadal Prasad, who was a candidate from Basgaon, will play the role of observer here.
3. Satya Narayan Patel has been appointed in-charge of Ambedkar Nagar Katheri seat. Katheri is a Kurmi dominated seat. Keshav Chandra Yadav will be the supervisor here.
4. Congress National Secretary Dheeraj Gurjar has been appointed in-charge of Kundarki seat under Moradabad. Sitapur MP Rakesh Rathore will stay here as an observer.
5. Congress National General Secretary Neelanshu Chaturvedi has been given the responsibility of Kanpur’s Sismau seat. Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma will be here as an observer.
6. Taukeer Alam has been appointed in charge of Akhilesh Yadav’s seat Karhal. Ramnath Sikarwar will be the supervisor here.
7. Rajesh Tiwari has got the responsibility of Phulpur seat of Prayagraj. Tiwari will be in charge here. Prayagraj MP Ujjwal Raman Singh has been made an observer from here.
8. MLA Virendra Chaudhary has been appointed in-charge of Muzaffarpur’s Mirapur seat. Saharanpur MP Imran Masood will be in the role of observer here.
9. Assembly leader Aradhana Mishra Mona has been appointed in-charge of the Ghaziabad Sadar seat. Barabanki MP Tanuj Punia will stay here as an observer.
10. Naseemuddin Siddiqui has been made in-charge of Aligarh’s Kher seat. Raj Kumar Rawat has been appointed as Supervisor here.
Congress claims at least 3 seats
Congress wants to contest at least 3 seats out of 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh where by-elections are to be held. Mazwan seat of Mirzapur, Phulpur seat of Prayagraj and Sadar seat of Ghaziabad are claimed by Congress. If the Congress does not get even one of these seats, the party can also contest from Kher in Aligarh and Mirapur in Muzaffarnagar.
It is being said that Ajay Rai himself may contest from Mazwan seat. Here the caste equation is also said to be favorable to them. At present Congress has only 2 MLAs in the Legislative Assembly. Congress wants to increase this number through by-elections.
A strategy to spoil the game if the coalition doesn’t happen
The manner in which the Congress has appointed in-charges and observers for all 10 seats regarding the by-elections is sending out several political messages. For example, keeping in mind the caste equation, the party has fielded strong leaders on all seats.
For example, the Milkipur seat has a large Dalit population, so veteran leader PL Punia has been posted there. Similarly, Rajesh Tiwari has been made in-charge of Phulpur and Satya Narayan Patel in-charge of Katheri.
Three Congress National Secretaries have been deputed for by-election duty. Similarly, apart from Rahul Gandhi, the party has also fielded other MPs.
It is being said that if there is no agreement with the Samajwadi Party on seat sharing, the Congress will field strong candidates on all the seats. The Congress will try to show through the by-elections that it cannot be taken lightly.
The Congress has also decided to hold a constitutional convention in all 10 seats from September 29 to October 10. Big leaders of the party will be present in this convention.
