UP polls 2022: Here's how the parties line up ahead of phase-I polling
Categories: Election 2022
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Congress, AAP and a host of smaller parties are in the fray for the 403 seats in the politically most significant state. The term of the current assembly in Uttar Pradesh expires on 14 March 2022.Smaller political parties have been wooed by the major political players due to their influence in various pockets of the state.These caste-centric smaller parties add valuable heft to the bigger parties like the BJP, SP, and Congress as even a few thousand votes can make or mar the chances of the candidates. Bharatiya Janata Party All eyes are on whether the BJP led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would break the 35-year-old jinx in Uttar Pradesh and come back for a second term. Nearly all opinion polls have given the party an edge over othersMany see the 2022 UP elections as a semi-final to the 2024 general elections, and a win this time will give a big fillip to the BJP's prospects. Apna Dal (Sonelal) The party has its support base mainly among the Kurmi community in the Varanasi region. The Apna Dal (Sonelal) is a breakaway party of Apna Dal which was founded in 1995 by Dr. Sone Lal Patel. Apna Dal (Sonelal) was founded by Jawahar Lal Patel, who was also the founding member of Apna Dal and had the backing of Anupriya Patel, the party's current president. The party is in alliance with the BJP. Apna Dal (Sonelal) had fought elections in 11 seats 2017 and won nine seats. Nishad Party The Nishad Party was founded in 2016. The party was formed for the empowerment of Nishad, Kewats, Bind, Mallah, Kashyap, Manjhi, Gond and other communities whose traditional occupations centred around rivers, such as boatmen or fishermen. Its founder is Sanjay Nishad, a former member of the Bahujan Samaj Party. Nishad Party fought 72 seats in 2017, and won only the Gyanpur seat. This year the party has entered into an alliance with the BJP. Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party is currently the main opposition in the Legislative Assembly. The party was founded by Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1992 and is now led by former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav after he was chosen party president by the National Convention held in January 2017.SP emerged as the single largest party in panchayat elections held in April this year. The recent migration of non-Yadav OBC leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya, voter dissatisfaction due to alleged mishandling of COVID-19 crisis and the resultant economic setbacks have raised SP's hopes of dethroning the BJP in 2022. RLD For Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary, this is the first election where he will be without the guidance of his father, Ajit Singh, who succumbed to COVID-19 in May.Jayant has entered into an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav. The SP and RLD are making an all-out effort to repeat their 2012 success when both of them contesting separately had won all the seven seats in the Aligarh district. Mahan Dal Mahan Dal was launched in 2008 by Keshav Dev Maurya and it is likely to have an impact in Rohilkhand and Western UP regions. Mahan Dal claims to have the support of a range of Other Backward Classes such as Mauryas, Shakyas, Kushwahas, Sainis and Kambojs. It's in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. Apna Dal(K) Apna Dal(K) is also in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. There have been recent strains over seat-sharing , with Apna Dal(K) saying it had to give back seats allotted to it. But both parties swear the alliance is very much intact. Bahujan Samaj Party In a bid to repeat Bahujan Samaj Party’s performance in the 2007 UP assembly election, former state chief minister Mayawati is trying to woo the Brahmin community and has given a call for unity between them and the Dalits.Mayawati promised that on coming to power, her government will work for the security, honour, and development of all sections of society Congress The Congress was once a force to reckon with in Uttar Pradesh. Now, with heavy loses in successive elections, it's being increasingly pushed to the fringes. In 2017, the party won just seven out of a total of 403 seats. And in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it won just 1 out of a total of 80, with its leader Rahul Gandhi losing from the family stronghold of Amethi. Bhagidari Parivartan Morcha All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Jan Adhikar Party, Bharat Mukti Morcha, Janata Kranti Party and Bharatiya Vanchit Samaj Party formed a front just a couple of weeks ago to contest all 403 seats. These are parties with a support base among Muslims, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Dalits.Owaisi has announced that if the front wins in UP, it will have two chief ministers - a Dalit and an OBC leader, besides three deputy Chief Ministers, one of whom ..