The political landscape of Uttar Pradesh is set for another electoral contest following the death of Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator Vijay Singh Gond. The MLA from the Duddhi constituency, a seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), passed away recently. This event has necessitated a by-election in Duddhi, marking the third such by-poll in the state after Ghosi and Faridpur. These upcoming votes are poised to ignite a fresh round of political confrontation between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition alliance of the SP and Congress in the coming months.
A Look at the Three Contested Seats
Of the three assembly seats heading for by-polls, Duddhi and Ghosi were held by the Samajwadi Party, while Faridpur was with the BJP. Interestingly, both Duddhi and Ghosi will witness a by-poll for the second time since the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
The Duddhi seat has seen significant political shifts. Vijay Singh Gond had won it in a 2024 by-poll, which was itself necessitated after the disqualification of BJP MLA Ram Dular Gond. Ram Dular Gond was disqualified following his conviction and a 25-year prison sentence in a case related to the rape of a minor. In that 2024 contest, Vijay Gond defeated BJP candidate Sarawan Kumar by a margin of approximately 3,000 votes. His victory was notable as it brought the seat back to the SP after a gap of nearly 22 years; Gond had previously won Duddhi in 2002 by defeating BJP's Rajendra Prasad by over 20,000 votes.
The Ghosi and Faridpur Dynamics
The Ghosi by-poll story involves political defection. The seat was won by SP's Sudhakar Singh in a 2023 by-election, where he defeated BJP's Dara Singh Chauhan by a massive margin of over 42,000 votes. That by-poll was triggered after Chauhan resigned as the sitting MLA upon switching from the SP to the BJP. Despite losing the seat, Dara Singh Chauhan was rewarded by the BJP with a nomination to the legislative council and an induction into Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's cabinet. The previous Ghosi contest was billed as a Thakur vs OBC battle. For the upcoming by-poll, the SP has already announced the candidature of Sudhakar Singh's son, Sujith.
In contrast, Faridpur, a reserved constituency in Bareilly, was held by BJP's Shyam Bihari Lal, who passed away on January 2 following a cardiac arrest. Lal, a Gwal Dalit, first won from Faridpur in 2017, defeating SP's Siya Ram Sagar by over 24,000 votes. He retained the seat in the 2022 assembly elections, defeating SP's Vijay Pal Singh, who had joined the SP from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Political Significance and Upcoming Strategies
Political experts point out that these three seats strategically cut across key social blocs—tribal (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and Dalit communities. This is the exact demographic terrain where the SP's PDA (Picchda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) narrative has been gaining traction for nearly two years. Analysts believe the SP may aim to project stability and consolidation of these sections while attempting to counter the BJP's well-known political engineering in by-elections.
All eyes are now on the BJP's candidate selection. The party is expected to deploy its tried and tested micro-caste management strategy while also pushing narratives centered on governance, law and order, and welfare delivery. In Ghosi, the BJP's choice will be closely watched to see how it plans to counter the SP's PDA pitch, which is credited with denting the BJP's performance in several constituencies during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.
As the Election Commission prepares to announce dates, these three by-polls are set to serve as a crucial mid-term barometer of political sentiment in the state, testing the strategies of both the ruling party and the re-energized opposition alliance.
