AMN
With barely a week is left for voting for the crucial by-elections to Gorakhpur and Phulpur parliamentary constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, political parties are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that they emerge victorious in the Lok Sabha bypolls which are being viewed as a rehearsal for the 2019 general elections.
The ruling BJP, which had registered an overwhelming win in the 2017 UP Assembly polls bagging 325 out of 403 seats along with its allies, will be attempting to retain both the seats. The focus of the opposition political parties will be to topple it.
The bypolls were necessitated after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated the Gorakhpur and Phulpur seats, following their election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.
The by-elections are expected to witness a triangular contest among the ruling BJP, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress.
Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party has decided to support Samajwadi Party candidates in the by polls to be held on March 11th. It was announced by BSP Chief Mayawati at Lucknow today. However, she clarified that it is not any alliance between the BSP and SP but she is extending support to SP candidates as her party has not fielded any candidate in the bypolls.