BJP plays on sympathy factor in two west UP assembly seats

LUCKNOW: Seeking to cash on the sympathy factor, the BJP gave tickets to Sangeeta Chauhan and Usha Sirohi, the wives of deceased party MLAs – Chetan Chauhan and Virendra Sirohi – from by poll bound Naugaon Sadat (Amroha) and Bulandshahr assembly seats – respectively, on Tuesday. The party, in fact, announced the names of candidates on all six assembly seats where by-elections are due in November. The party withheld the announcement of party candidate in Deoria which fell vacant following death of BJP MLA Janmejay Singh.
Chauhan, the cricketer-turned-politician had passed away in August after contracting coronavirus infection, while Sirohi, a senior party leader and chief whip in the UP assembly died in March while fighting serious liver ailments. Both Chauhan and Sirohi were popular leaders in their respective constituencies.
Sangeeta Chauhan
BJP's decision to play on the sympathy factor in the two West UP seats comes even as the party battles an assertive opposition which seeks to corner the saffron party over alleged gang-rape and death of a Dalit girl in Hathras. BJP sources said that the decision to field wives of Chauhan and Sirohi was taken by the UP BJP after due approval from the Central leadership. The UP BJP unit lead by state party chief Swatantra Dev Singh and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath had convened the state election committee meeting on Friday last week before sending the names to the party’s central leadership.
The party also decided to field former BJP’s Unnao district president, Srikant Katiyar from Bangarmau assembly seat which fell vacant following disqualification of BJP MLA and an influential Thakur leader Kuldeep Singh Senger in connection with rape of a minor. BJP decision to field Katiyar, a Kurmi, is seen as a party attempt to offset opposition aggressive stance of tagging BJP as a party of upper caste, essentially Thakur in Bangarmau assembly seat in Unnao. Sources said that the party was initially planning to field Sangeeta Senger, wife of Kuldeep Senger but the party's Central leadership decided against it. "The party did not wish to field a Thakur as it would have pitted the community against Brahmins. It was eventually decided to go in for a backward," a senior BJP leader told TOI.
The party, likewise, banked on local party functionaries in other by-poll bound assembly seats. In Tundla reserved seat, which fell vacant following election of former MLA SP Singh Baghel to Lok Sabha, the party decided to field Prempal Dhangar, a local party functionary from shepherd community. He would be up against Maharaj Singh Dhangar who has been fielded by the Samajwadi Party.
Similarly the party has fielded Upendra Paswan, party’s regional president (SC Morcha) from Ghatampur, the seat which fell vacant following death of party MLA and cabinet minister Kamala Rani Varun following Corona infection in August. The BJP announced the candidature of Manoj Singh, a Thakur, from Malhani (Jaunpur assembly seat which has a considerable influence of mafia-turned-politician Dhananjay Singh. Manoj happens to be a former vice-president of Allahabad University.