Opposition gears up to ‘dent’ Yogi’s turf
GORAKHPUR: Political parties have begun preparing their strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha by election for Gorakhpur seat, which has fallen vacant following elevation of its MP Yogi Adityanath as chief minister. The Election Commission of India is expected to announce polling dates in first week of February.
This election is a battle of prestige for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it has been represented for five consecutive terms by its firebrand leader Yogi Adityanath, who first won the seat 1998.
Incidentally, this will be for the first time that a BJP candidate will not be directly linked with Gorakhnath temple that draws lakhs of Hindu devotees. A BJP worker on condition of anonymity told HT, “It is not clear who will be the party’s candidate as the final call will be taken by Yogi Adityanath.”
Rival parties are seeing it as a chance to wrest the seat from the saffron party in its stronghold.
A day after Yogi Adityanath reportedly held meetings with MPs and MLAs at Gorakhnath temple to take stock of election preparations, rival parties including the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Congress are also busy chalking
› It is not clear who will be the party’s candidate for the seat as the final call will be taken by CM Yogi Adityanath
A BJP worker
out strategies. Some even held meetings.
District Congress president Syed Jamal told HT, “We are holding a meeting of party workers from Gorakhpur division, which will be attended by senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and party’s state chief Raj Babbar. Poll strategy will be chalked out after the meeting that is expected to take place before February 15.”
Meanwhile, chairing a meeting with party workers, MLAs, MPs and MLCs at city’s Nepal lodge, BJP state general secretary Sunil Bansal asked them to gear up for the election.
Similarly, Samajwadi Party state chief Naresh Uttam too held meetings with workers.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), however, is awaiting directives from the party high command on the issue. “BSP does not contest by polls but on Gorakhpur by polls we are awaiting direction from senior leadership,” said Ghanshyam Rahi, party’s district president.