Four parties are in the fray in Uttar Pradesh elections?Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party(SP), Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) and Congress but the fight is triangular with only BSP, SP and BJP as the chief contenders. Congress is present only in eight seats including Amethi from where Rahul Gandhi is fighting the elections. This is the traditional seat of ?Gandhi family?. Rai Barelly is the second parliamentary seat which is also the seat of ?Gandhi family?. Indira Gandhi used to fight the elections from here. This is the sitting seat of Sonia Gandhi. Third seat is Sultanpur. This is the neighbouring seat of Amethi. Congress is hopeful to win this seat also. Sanjay Singh is in the race. Except these seats, Congress is concentrating itself on the seats of Pratapgarh, Kanpur, Rampur, Muradabad, Fatehpur Sikri, Bansgav and Barabanki. Central Minister Shri Prakash Jaiswal is the Congress candidate from Kanpur and another Central Minister Mahaveer Prasad is the Congress candidate from Bansgav. Flim star Raj Babbar is standing from Fatehpur Sikri and former captain of Indian cricket team Azaharuddin is fighting from Muradabad. Congress men are hoping to win a majority of seats in UP.
In the last parliamentary elections, BJP was out of the race. SP and BSP were the main contenders. SP bagged 35 seats and BSP bagged 17 seats. BJP won only 10 seats. But the scenario has changed in this elections. BJP has an upper hand due to many reasons. BJP has a clear national agenda this time. The party has clearly stated that it will work for the overall interest of the Hindus whether it is the subject of Ram temple or Article 370. Two factors are are helping the BJP in this elections. The first is Varun Gandhi factor and the second is the confusion in Muslim voters. Due to his speech favouring the Hindu cause and the rackless reaction of so-called secular parties and the State government Varun Gandhi has become a hero in the eyes of the Hindus. Varun was booked in four criminal cases and the State government has imposed National Security Act on him. Due to this draconian step by the State government against Varun Gandhi, he is being praised by the Hindus. This draconian step has become a big issue for the BJP. The party has waged a ?war? against the State government and the so-called secular political parties. Almost every leader of the BJP is speaking about Varun'sissue in election rallies . BJP will be a gainer in western and central UP including Avadh region. It is concentrating on Lucknow, Kanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautambudh Nagar, Bulandshahar , Aligarh, Hathras, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Etah , Farrukabad, Saharanpur, Rampur, Amroha, Anvala, Bareli, Philibhit etc. BJP president Shri Rajnath Singh is candidate from Ghaziabad . Varun Ghandhi is fighting from Philibhit and his mother Maneka Gandhi from Anvala.This time BJP is hoping to win maximum number of seats.
In eastern UP, the Hindu firebrand BJP leader Yogi Adityanath is an asset for the party. He is the heir of famous Hindu temple Gorakshnath (Peeth). He is a dedicated leader for the Hindu cause. BJP is concentrating on the seats of Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Khushinagar, Devaria, Bansgav, Azamgarh, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Faizabad and Ambedkar Nagar. Yogi Adityanath is the star compainer of the party in eastern UP. He himself is a candidate from Gorakhpur parliamentary constituency. Dr Murli Manohar Joshi is candidate from Varanasi. Shri Lalji Tandon is in the race from Lucknow. This is traditional seat of former Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee. It is assumed that Shri Lalji Tandon is his political heir in capital Lucknow. BJP is hopeful to win this seat.
In UP, Congress, BSP and SP are fighting the elections separately. No seat adjustment has been taken place between the SP and the Congress. Both are against each other in the field .These three parties are wooing the Muslim voters . There is confusion in the Muslim community. SP is considered as the main hero party in Muslims due to the so-called sacrifices of Mulayam Singh for the Muslim community. In Ayodhya movement, he crushed the Hindus in the name of secularism. He motivated the officers to butcher the karsevaks in October -November 1990. But Mulayam Singh has lost his credibility due to ?Kalyan Singh factor?. It is a well known fact that once upon a time Kalyan Singh was the political hero of Ayodhya movement. In his regime of 1991 (December 6), the ?disputed structure? was demolished. Muslims are not able to digest the fact that Kalyan Singh who was opposing the Muslim community is now with Mulayam Singh Yadav. Therefore the Muslim community is going far from Mulayam. His Muslim lieutenant Azam Khan is opposing him due to Kalyan Singh factor. Azam Khan had once said that ?Bharat Mata is a witch?. Due to this statement Azam Khan is considered a villain in the Hindu society but a hero in Muslim community. He is appealing the Muslim community to oppose Mulayam Singh in the elections. Mayawati has earned the image of an opportunist in the Muslim community. The third party i.e the Congress which is a contender of Muslim vote is too weak. The party is out of race in the ?vote war?. Since the Muslims are deeply confused, the situation may be helpful for the BJP.
