It’s D-Day for parties in Uttar Pradesh as India’s most populous state votes in phase 1 of the seven-phase assembly elections, touted as a direct fight between the BJP led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the state and the SP-RLD combine represented by Akhilesh Yadav and Jayant Chaudhary. There are nearly 615 candidates in the fray for the 58 constituencies going to the polls on Thursday. In the 2017 polls, BJP won 53 of the aforesaid 58 seats spread over 11 districts in western UP. As this is a region dominated by Jats, RLD is perceived as a key player in this phase.
Here’s a look at key electoral battles to watch out for today:
• Noida: Pankaj Singh (BJP) vs Sunil Choudhary (SP) vs Pankhuri Pathak (Congress): It’s a litmus test for BJP as Defence Minister and former UP CM Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj Singh is seeking re-election from Noida. This seat falls under the Gautam Buddha Nagar district. In the 2017 election, Singh had trumped Sunil Choudhary of SP by a margin of 1,04,016 votes. While SP has again fielded Choudhary, BSP and AAP are represented by Kripa Ram Sharma and Pankaj Avana. This time, there is another strong challenger in Congress’ Pankhuri Pathak who was a former spokesperson of SP.
• Kairana: Nahid Hasan (SP) vs Mriganka Singh (BJP): In the headlines for the alleged exodus of Hindu families, this constituency falls under the Kairana Lok Sabha segment and is a part of the Shamli district. While BJP veteran Hukum Singh won this seat from 1996 onwards, it was wrested by SP’s Nahid Hasan in 2014 after the former resigned post being elected to the Lok Sabha. In the 2017 election as well, Hasan defeated the late BJP leader’s daughter Mriganka Singh by 21,162 votes. SP has come under fire for renominating Nahid Hasan despite him facing multiple criminal cases relating to fraud and extortion.
• Thana Bhawan: Suresh Kumar (BJP) vs Ashraf Ali (RLD): UP minister Suresh Kumar has won from Thana Bhawan two times in a row and is seeking a third term as an MLA amid protests by sugarcane farmers over pending dues. SP ally RLD has fielded Ashraf Ali who lost to Kumar with a narrow margin of 265 votes in the 2012 polls. Ali is the former chairman of the Jalalabad Municipal Council.
• Agra Rural: Baby Rani Maurya (BJP) vs Mahesh Kumar (RLD): Ex-Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya served as the Mayor of Agra from 1995 to 2000. She narrowly lost to her BSP opponent from the Etmadpur seat in the 2007 assembly polls. On August 26, 2018, she took oath as the Uttarakhand Governor, becoming the second woman Governor of the state after Margaret Alva. She stepped down from her post on September 8, 2021, and was appointed BJP vice-president by JP Nadda 12 days later. In 2017, BJP’s Hemlata Diwakar comfortably won Agra Rural. The other candidates are Congress’ Upendra Singh, BSP’s Kiran Prabha Keshari and RLD’s Mahesh Kumar.
• Muzaffarnagar: Kapil Dev Aggarwal (BJP) vs Saurabh (RLD): Like Kairana, Muzaffarnagar too has been in the news with BJP leaders raking up the riots on the campaign trail. While BJP’s Kapil Dev Aggarwal, who is the UP Minister for Vocational Education and Skill Development, has held this seat from 2015, he has won with narrow margins. For instance, he beat SP’s Gaurav Swarup Bansal by 10,704 votes in the previous election. This time, RLD has nominated Saurabh while Congress has put up Subodh Sharma from this seat.
• Mathura: Shrikant Sharma (BJP) vs Pradeep Mathur (Congress): While speculation was rife that UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya was eyeing this seat, BJP gave the ticket to state Minister for Energy and Additional Sources of Energy Shrikant Sharma. In the last assembly election, Sharma defeated Congress’ Pradeep Mathur by a staggering margin of 1,01,161 votes. Mathur, who held the seat from 2002 to 2017, has again been nominated by the Congress party. On the other hand, SP has fielded former Sadabad MLA Devendra Agrawal.
• Sardhana: Sangeet Som (BJP) vs Atul Pradhan (SP): Muzaffarnagar riots accused Sangeet Som is the BJP’s pick from Sardhana. He was arrested on September 20, 2013, for allegedly uploading a fake video that played a role in triggering communal tension. Som won from here in 2012 as well as 2017. On the other hand, Atul Pradhan is the SP candidate. This is being looked at as an interesting contest owing to the impact of the farmers’ unrest and the perception of anti-incumbency.
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