Will oppn join hands to challenge BJP for 10th seat in UP?
An opportunity of closing ranks and fielding a joint candidate to challenge the BJP for the 10th Rajya Sabha seat appears to be staring the opposition in the face in Uttar Pradesh.
Will the opposition join hands to claim the second Rajya Sabha seat in the biennial election? This is the million-dollar question doing rounds in the corridors of power even as nominations for 10 Rajya Sabha seats, falling vacant on November 25, began here on Tuesday.
“Yes, they (opposition parties) must come together if they want to challenge the BJP, which is in an advantageous position now. But these parties coming together appears a remote possibility. The politics is a game of all possibilities and you never know what happens,” said SK Dwivedi, former head of department political science, Lucknow University.
A division in the opposition’s ranks comes as a reminder to March 2018 Rajya Sabha polls when the BJP was able to ensure victory of its additional candidate Anil Agarwal defeating BSP candidate BR Ambedkar.
When asked about BJP’s strategy for Rajya Sabha elections this time around, party’s UP general secretary Vijay Pathak said, “The central leadership will soon
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was present for Rajya Sabha enrolment of Ram Gopal Yadav in Lucknow on Wednesday.
decide party’s candidates. We will ensure victory of all the candidates announced by the BJP leadership.”
Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, a sitting Rajya Sabha member retiring on November 25, filed his nomination papers for one of the 10 seats here on Wednesday.
“Yes, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav has filed his nomination. The Samajwadi Party has so far declared its candidate for one seat only. We have some votes to spare. But no decision has been taken yet about fielding a second candidate,” said Samajwadi Party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary.
Party president Akhilesh Yadav, leader of opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary, SP state unit chief Naresh Uttam Patel, party
MLAs and other senior party leaders were present in the Central Hall of Vidhan Sabha on the occasion.
Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha has a sanctioned strength of 403 members. Any candidate for Rajya Sabha will need 36 votes to win. Eight seats in the state assembly are vacant. A by-poll is under way for seven of the eight assembly seats while the Election Commission of India is yet to take a call about the by-poll dates for Suar seat of Rampur district. The BJP with strength of 305 in the state assembly will be in a position to ensure victory of its eight candidates and will have 17 votes to spare. It also has the support of nine Apna Dal MLAs. The party is likely to get four votes of otherwise estranged Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and three independent MLAs.
On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party with 48 members can ensure victory of its one candidate. The party will also have 12 extra votes. With this, the party can mobilise support in the opposition’s ranks to ensure victory of an extra candidate or consider supporting a common candidate or candidate of any other opposition party.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with 18 and the Congress with seven and Rashtriya Lok Dal one can win the second seat for the opposition.
The BJP, however, has the advantage of making deep inroads in the opposition’s ranks. Two Congress MLAs have virtually joined the BJP. Some of the SP members are also with the BJP.
Some BSP members are also in close contact with the BJP. This puts the BJP in an advantageous position.
Following the BJP’s defeat in by-election to Phoolpur and Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seats, the SP and the BSP had come closer. The SP had assured support to BSP candidate BR Ambedkar in the biennial poll to ensure his victory.SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had cancelled celebrations for Jaya Bachchan’s victory following Ambedkar’s defeat.
However, the SP and the BSP parted ways after fighting 2019 Lok Sabha elections together.