SC-OBC turned upside down in UP by-elections, Maharashtra’s great victory becomes sweeter, BJP bomb

Sanjay Singh, New Delhi: On BJP’s performance in Uttar Pradesh assembly by-elections, experts say that the party was successful in bringing back OBC and SC voters. BJP won six out of nine seats in UP. Its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal won one seat. The caste equation was different on these seats located in different parts of the state. Therefore, it was a difficult task for BJP to make a different strategy on every seat.

Yogi Adityanath took charge and…

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took charge of the election management. he/she fielded BJP candidates on Katehari and Majhawan seats. These seats were won by ally Nishad Party in the 2022 assembly elections. BJP won both the seats. BJP has won the Katehri seat after thirty years. Apart from this, BJP maintained its victory in Phulpur seat after a tough contest. BJP increased its vote share in Karhal, the bastion of Samajwadi Party. This seat was vacated by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav after winning the Lok Sabha elections from Kannauj. Here BJP got 89,597 votes. After the by-elections, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has four more MLAs from the OBC category.

SP in shock after snatching Katehri seat

BJP got the support of OBC and SC voters in snatching Katehari seat from SP. The party made Dharamraj Nishad its candidate. he/she is a former BSP leader and is popular among the local SC voters. he/she has been elected to the Assembly thrice before. Apart from SC voters, there are also good numbers of Brahmin voters in this area. SP had fielded Shobhavati Verma. She is the wife of Ambedkar Nagar MP Lalji Verma. This seat was vacated by Lalji Verma after winning from Ambedkar Nagar in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Verma was elected from Katehri in the 2017 and 2022 assembly elections. This was a new challenge for BJP due to Verma’s strong hold on Katehri seat.

BJP also established its foothold in Akhilesh’s stronghold Karhal

For Karhal seat, which is considered to be Akhilesh Yadav’s stronghold, the party made a different strategy. The party chose local Yadav face Anujesh Yadav to improve its performance. BJP gave a tough fight to SP here and reduced the victory margin of SP compared to 2022 elections. SP candidate Tej Pratap Yadav could win this seat by a margin of only 14,725 votes.

The reforms undertaken to restore the necessary balance between the party organization and the government after its defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections helped the BJP corner its main political rival SP in the assembly by-elections. Apart from deploying his/her ministers to nine assembly seats, Adityanath interacted with party workers at the grassroots level. With his/her slogan of ‘bantoge to katoge’ he/she continued to attack SP and turned the by-elections into a direct contest between himself and the SP chief.

Three messages from UP by-elections

BJP’s victory in these by-elections indicates many things. First, Yogi Adityanath’s stature has become stronger in the party. Second, BJP has again strengthened the OBC and SC vote bank. Third, BJP has made inroads in SP’s stronghold also. The impact of these changes will be seen in the politics of UP in the coming times. It will be interesting to see what shape these equations take in the 2027 assembly elections. The slogan ‘If you divide you will be divided’ became a call to Hindus to remain united.