New Delhi: In a crucial meeting with the Uttar Pradesh core group, Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda discussed strategies for the upcoming byelections in the northern state as-well-as in other parts of the country. The meeting, which took place at Nadda’s residence in Delhi, focused on the 10 seats that will be contested in Uttar Pradesh.
There is speculation that the Mirapur seat in Muzaffarnagar may be given to RLD, led by Jayant Chaudhary. Meanwhile, the Nishad Party has shown interest in contesting the Majhwan and Katehri seats. However, the BJP believes it has a strong claim on the Majhwan seat, as its sitting MLA Vinod Bind won the 2024 Lok Sabha election from there. Senior BJP leaders have been tasked with negotiating with Sanjay Nishad to reach a resolution on this matter.
UP CM and deputy CMs in attendance
The meeting was attended by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, and BJP’s UP state president Bhupendra Chaudhary. The discussions lasted over an hour and a half, with detailed deliberation on candidate selection for the byelections.
It was decided that BJP will contest bulk of the seats, with several new faces likely to be given tickets. The BJP central leadership is expected to finalise seat-sharing arrangements with its allies in the coming days. Following the Uttar Pradesh discussions, a second meeting was held to finalise candidates for the upcoming byelections in Rajasthan. The meeting reviewed a panel of candidates submitted by the Rajasthan core committee for seven assembly seats.
JP Nadda and Amit Shah also held a separate meeting with Rajasthan deputy chief minister Prem Chand Bairwa after the core group discussions. The Election Commission is expected to announce the byelection dates for 48 assembly seats across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and other states in soon.
