Will Opposition unite to do a Gorakhpur?

LUCKNOW: The byelections in Kairana, to be held in a month from now, will be a test case for two aspects—whether UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has been able to recover eroding ground following the shocking defeat in Gorakhpur and

Phulpur

in March and whether the

Opposition

manages to stay united, a phenomenon that led to the BJP’s defeat in these bypolls.

The

Kairana Lok Sabha

seat fell vacant after the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh. Byelection will be held on May 28.

Noorpur assembly constituency will also go to polls on the same day. It fell vacant following the death of MLA Lokendra Singh in an accident.

The byelections will be held after the declaration of results of the Karnataka assembly polls and its result would provide a psychological edge ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year.

The Opposition, mainly SP and BSP, is energised and aggressive after trouncing BJP in Gorakhpur and Phulpur in March, when the two arch rivals came together to turn the tables.

Also, political observers say that the 2014 Lok Sabha polls were fought in the aftermath of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, which is said to have led the Jats, Gujjars and

Jatavs

in favour of the BJP that swept all 10 seats in western UP held in the first phase of elections.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) is staking claim for the Kairana seat and so is SP.

While BSP does not contest byelections, the Opposition camp will wait for its declaration of support and shifting of the strong Jatav votebank in favour of the Opposition candidate.

RLD chief Ajit Singh has worked hard, along with his son Jayant Chaudhary, by undertaking “jansamvad yatras” in the past three months in a bid to restore communal amity between Jats and Muslims.

It is to be seen whether the Congress, which fared poorly in Gorakhpur and Phulpur, would field a candidate or extend support to the Opposition candidate.

“Opposition unity is important and defeating BJP is the priority,” said RLD spokesperson Anil Dubey.

Observers say it needs to be seen whether SP decides to not field its candidate, thereby strengthening RLD’s position in taking on BJP in Kairana.