Direct contest between BJP, SP in Gorakhpur since 1996

GORAKHPUR The BJP and the SP have been locked in a direct contest on the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat since 1996.

Lok Sabha by-election on Gorakhpur seat will be held on March 11. The seat fell vacant when Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath resigned.

Though Yogi Adityanath, who held the seat from 1998 to September 2017, is not a contender this time, BJP leaders said the election would be contested in his name irrespective of the candidate. “We are confident of our victory. People will vote for development of Gorakhpur,” said BJP spokesman Satyendra Sinha.

Though the BJP has not eclared its candidate, the name of Upendra Dutt Shukla is doing the rounds.

While Rajmati Nishad and Ram Bhuwal Nishad are among probable candidates, SP may also bet on Dr Sanjay Nishad, founder of NISHAD Party, party sources said. Sanjay Nishad holds considerable sway on Nishad community in Gorakhpur (rural) and Pipraich assembly constituencies. The two parties have been locked in electoral battle for over two decades. In 1996, the Samajwadi Party fielded its two-time MLA Virendra Pratap Shahi who gave a tough fight to BJP candidate mahant Avaidyanath by securing 1.79 lakh votes but lost. In 1998, mahant Avaidyanath passed on the baton to his successor Yogi Adityanath who defeated SP’s Jamuna Nishad by a margin of 26,202 votes.

Yogi’s victory margin narrowed in the election held in 1999. This time, he managed to defeat Jamuna Nishad (SP) with a margin of 7,339 votes.

Yogi’s vote share started growing in 2004 when he emerged victorious for the third time defeating Jamuna Nishad (SP) by a margin of 1,42,039 votes.

In 2009, BSP’s Vinay Shankar Tiwari, son of mafia-turned-politician Hari Shankar Tiwari secured second position while Yogi emerged victorious with a margin of 2,20,271 votes.

The 2014 general election also went in favour of Yogi as he defeated his closest rival, SP’s Rajmati Nishad, by 3,12,783 votes.

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SANJAY NISHAD HOLDS CONSIDERABLE SWAY ON NISHAD COMMUNITY IN GORAKHPUR (RURAL) AND PIPRAICH ASSEMBLY SEATS