LUCKNOW: Having acquired more political muscle through Jat support by taking Jayant Chaudhury-led RLD onboard, the BJP is aiming for a dominance on the eight seats — Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Mathura — set to vote on April 26, while the Opposition bloc is ready to put a stiff fight.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP, while facing the challenge from SP-BSP-RLD grand alliance, won seven of these seats. Only Amroha was won by the alliance.
In 2024, the BJP has reworked its strategy by allying with the RLD and allotting the Baghpat seat to the party that has Jats as its core support base.
To regain lost ground, the SP has tied up with the Congress. The BSP is going it alone. In this phase, both SP and Congress are contesting on four seats each as per their seat-sharing arrangement. While the SP has fielded candidates in Meerut, Baghpat, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Aligarh, Congress will contest in Ghaziabad, Mathura, Amroha and Bulandshahr.
The fate of former Union minister Mahesh Sharma, who is seeking a third term on the BJP ticket from Gautam Budh Nagar, Ramayan fame actor Arun Govil in Meerut and actress Hema Malini, who is seeking a hat-trick from Mathura, will be decided in this phase.
Former Mumbai Police commissioner Satya Pal Singh is not in the fray this time. He had defeated RLD chief Ajit Singh in Baghpat in 2014 and Jayant Chaudhary in 2019. BJP has allotted Baghpat to the RLD and Dr Rajkumar Sangwan has been fielded as NDA candidate.
Amroha is set to witness a contest among Congress’s Danish Ali, BJP’s Kanwar Singh Tanwar, and BSP’s Dr Mujahid Hussain. The BSP suspended Ali, who was its MP from Amroha, last year for “anti-party” activities and he joined the Congress.
The BJP stronghold Meerut will witness a three-way fight among BJP’s Arun Govil, SP’s Sunita Verma and BSP’s Devvrat Kumar Tyagi. In Meerut, the S P has fielded dalit candidate Sunita Verma replacing OBC aspirant Atul Pradhan. The BJP won the seat in 1996, losing it to Congress in 1999 and BSP in 2004. BJP’s Rajendra Agrawal, who has been denied the ticket this time, won the Meerut seat in 2009, 2014 and 2019. The BJP has replaced Agarwal with Govil.
Baghpat, an RLD bastion, is in for a three-cornered contest among RLD’s Rajkumar Sangwan, SP’s Amarpal Sharma and BSP’s Praveen Baisala. Former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh had won the seat thrice in 1977, 1980 and 1984. His son Ajit Singh won it in 1989, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2004 and 2009. However, BJP candidate Sompal won the seat in 1998.
A BJP bastion since it came into existence in 2008, the Ghaziabad seat is set for a fight between BJP’s Atul Garg, Congress’s Dolly Sharma and BSP’s Nandkishor Pundhir. The BJP is banking on the popularity of Garg to retain the seat, while BSP plans to cash in on anger among Rajputs in rural areas over denial of ticket to two-time BJP MP and Union minister General (retd) VK Singh. The Congress is working on the Brahmin-Muslim formula.
In Gautam Budhh Nagar, Mahesh Sharma, who was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014 and 2019, is seeking a third term as the BJP candidate. He is facing the SP’s Rahul Awana, a Gujjar leader, and BSP’s Rajendra Singh Solanki, a Rajput.
The Bulandshahr reserved seat is all set for a contest among BJP’s Bhola Singh, who won the seat in 2014 and 2019, BSP’s Girish Chandra, MP from Nagina, and Congress’s Shiv Ram Valmiki.
In Aligarh, BJP’s Satish Gautam (Brahmin), who won the seat in 2014 and 2019, is in the fray for a third term. The BSP has fielded a Brahmin candidate, Hitendra Kumar aka Bunty Upadhyay, a former BJP leader. The SP has nominated Bijendra Singh.
In Mathura, two-time BJP MP Hema Malini is seeking a third term. She is pitted against Mukesh Dhangar of Congress and Suresh Singh of BSP. The Congress was earlier planning to field boxer Vijendra Singh in Mathura but he joined BJP.