Lucknow: In a high-stake electoral showdown, the state of Uttar Pradesh is gearing up for a fierce competition between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) as both parties field their candidates for 23 Lok Sabha seats.
One of the most anticipated contests is set to take place in Basti, where incumbent MP Harish Dwivedi, representing the BJP, will once again face Ram Prasad Chaudhary, who is now Samajwadi Party candidate.
Dwivedi emerged victorious in the previous election on a BJP ticket, while Chaudhry was BSP nominee because Basti seat went to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as part of the SP-BSP alliance.
Ram Prasad Chaudhary has joined SP this time and the party nominated him from crucial Lok Sabha seats.
The battleground extends to Lucknow, where BJP's Rajnath Singh is set to clash with SP's Ravidas Mehrotra, and in Mohanlalganj, where BJP's Kaushal Kishore will face off against SP's RK Chaudhary.
With the SP declaring candidates for 31 seats, the sudden demise of Shafiqur Rahman Burke in Sambhal and the withdrawal of Surendra Singh Patel in Varanasi have narrowed the field to 29 candidates officially in the fray for the SP.
The BJP, with declaring candidates from 23 seats, has crystallized the political landscape, setting the stage for a clear face-off between the two parties. The key battleground constituencies include Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Etah, Amla, Shahjahanpur, Kheri, Dhaurahara, Hardoi, Misrikh, Unnao, Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Pratapgarh, Farrukhabad, Akbarpur, Banda, Faizabad, Ambedkarnagar, Gonda, Basti, Gorakhpur, and Chandauli where the two parties will cross swords.
Muzaffarnagar
In Muzaffarnagar, the alliance between the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the NDA sees party chief Jayant Chaudhary supporting BJP's Dr. Sanjeev Balyan against SP's Harendra Malik.
Etah
Etah witnesses a change in strategy for the SP, replacing a candidate from the Yadav caste with Devesh Shakya, while Unnao features a contest between Anu Tandon of the SP, formerly a Congress candidate, and BJP's MP Sakshi Maharaj.
Faizabad
In Faizabad, BJP's Lallu Singh – two -time MP will face SP's former minister Awadhesh Prasad against Additionally, Gonda showcases a battle between Shreya Verma of the SP, granddaughter of former minister Beni Prasad Verma, and BJP's Kirti Vardhan Singh.
In Farrukhabad, SP's Dr. Naval Kishore Shakya squares off against BJP's Mukesh Rajput, while Azamgarh presents the possibility of a face-off between BJP's Dinesh Lal Nirahua against SP’s national president, Akhilesh Yadav, though the latter's official announcement is pending.
Riveting Showdown
The electoral battlefield is set, and as campaigning gains momentum, Uttar Pradesh braces itself for a riveting showdown between the BJP and SP on these crucial 23 seats.
