By Election : BJP win in Rampur and Azamgarh, why did SP have to face defeat?

There was a major upset in the by-elections in Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats. BJP snatched both these seats from SP. In Rampur, BJP candidate Ghanshyam Lodhi defeated Asim Raza of Samajwadi Party by about 42 thousand votes. In Azamgarh, Bhojpuri singer and BJP candidate Dinesh Lal Yadav alias Nirhua defeated Dharmendra Yadav, brother of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.

This victory means a lot for the BJP, because Rampur is considered to be the stronghold of SP leader Azam Khan and Azamgarh is Akhilesh-Mulayam. Akhilesh Yadav won from Azamgarh in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. At the same time, in 2014, Mulayam Singh Yadav was elected MP from here. On the other hand, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Azam Khan became an MP in Rampur. Now both these seats have gone to BJP's account.

Azamgarh: In the by-election here, the BJP once again reposed faith in the famous Bhojpuri singer Dinesh Lal Yadav alias Nirahua. In 2019 also Nirhua contested from this seat, but was defeated. Then SP chief Akhilesh Yadav defeated him. After winning the assembly elections this time, Akhilesh left the Lok Sabha seat of Azamgarh. In the by-election, he made his brother Dharmendra Yadav a candidate. However, Dharmendra could not maintain Akhilesh's victory and lost the election.

Rampur: In the by-election here, BJP made Ghanshyam Lodhi its candidate. Ghanshyam was once close to veteran SP leader Azam Khan. He has also been an MLC from SP. Just before the 2022 assembly elections, Lodhi left the SP and joined the BJP. Then he was trying to get a ticket from the party, but could not get it.

There was a lot of news of differences between Azam Khan and Akhilesh Yadav. Due to this, the supporters of both were also seen openly accusing each other many times. Having a good hold on the politics of UP, Prof. Ajay Singh says that due to this the disillusionment of Muslims with SP. In Azamgarh, Muslims expressed more trust in Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali of BSP. Due to this the Muslim vote got divided. At the same time, along with Yadav, Dalit and Kurmi voters also expressed confidence in Nirhua.