Yogi, Akhilesh In Bypoll Joust

The ruling BJP has an outsized majority in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, so why then is the state and, to a certain degree even New Delhi, waiting with bated breath for the byelections in 10 seats there?

- Prashant Srivastava

Well, the party's dismal Lok Sabha results for one: its cave-in from 62 seats to 33 was like the hit to the solar plexus that nearly felled the whole body. The public spats that erupted with-in-between saffron stalk, root and sundry branches-have not ceased. As a consequence, Yogi Adityanath and his 'bulldozer' government look less than rock-solid for perhaps the first time. On the other hand, the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) looks a lot more peppy after becoming the party with the most MPs from the state-37, with ally Congress snaffling six more.

The bypoll dates haven't been announced yet but Yogi has already assigned 30 of his ministers seat-wise responsibilities to ensure the BJP puts up a good show. The seats, too, are critical: the SP had won five in the 2022 election, the BJP three and NDA allies Nishad Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal (an SP partner then) one each. Nine of the seats were vacated after the incumbent MLAs contested and won the LS polls; the Sishamau seat fell vacant after the SP MLA, Irfan Solanki, was disqualified.