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LUCKNOW: The return of the saffron wave notwithstanding, UP elections were marked by the electoral defeat of as many as 11 ministers from the Yogi Adityanath cabinet — in what proffered subtle assertion of the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, in certain pockets of the politically crucial state.
The biggest upset was that of deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya who lost to SP’s Pallavi Patel, the elder sister of Apna Dal (S) chief Anupriya Patel in Sirathu assembly seat in Kaushambi. Maurya, the key non-Yadav OBC face of BJP, was one of the tallest political figures after CM Yogi Adityanath to contest the UP assembly elections. His candidature was declared along with Yogi by Union minister and BJP UP election incharge Dharmendra Pradhan.
Maurya’s defeat, experts said, came against the backdrop of a pointed bipolar contest between the BJP and the SP. Maurya who had won the seat in 2012 assembly elections for the first time, could not capitalize on the consolidation of non-Yadav OBC even as Pallavi found a steadfast support of the Kurmi community which has a sizeable population in the region. The setback came despite PM Narendra Modi’s rally in Kaushambi and consistent campaign by Anupriya in favour of Maurya.
The other big name from the BJP to have bitten the dust was sugarcane minister Suresh Rana who lost from the Thana Bhawan assembly seat in Shamli. A Thakur, Rana was defeated by RLD’s Ashraf Ali Khan. In 2012, Khan had lost to Rana by a slender margin of less than 300 votes. In 2017 assembly elections, Rana had won convincingly defeating his nearest rival Abdul Waris Khan of BSP by a margin of over 16,000 votes. This time, there was a consolidation of Muslim vote bank in favour of SP-backed RLD’s Muslim candidate.
So was the case with rural development minister Rajendra Pratap Singh (Moti Singh) who lost from Patti assembly seat in Pratapgarh. The four-time MLA was defeated by SP’s Ram Singh by 22,000 votes.
The other prominent UP minister to lose the election was Satish Chandra Dwivedi who lost from Itwa seat in Siddharthnagar district. Dwivedi, the basic education minister, was defeated by former speaker and SP veteran Mata Prasad Pandey by a margin of just over 1,600 votes. A former state vice-president of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student arm of the RSS, Dwivedi happens to be an associate professor of economics at a degree college in Kushinagar.
UP sports minister Upendra Tewari, too, lost from the Phephna seat which he had been winning since 2012 assembly elections. He was defeated by SP’s Sangram Singh who came third in the 2017 assembly elections after BSP’s Ambika Chaudhary. With Ambika back in SP, Sangram received a consolidated support of the party.
Likewise, minister of state for parliamentary affairs Anand Swaroop Shukla was defeated by SP’s Jai Prakash in the Bairia assembly seat in Ballia. In 2017, Prakash was defeated by BJP’s Surendra Singh who was denied a ticket this time by the BJP. Shukla who had won from Ballia sadar in 2017 was shifted to make way for UP BJP vice-president Daya Shankar Singh, who won. Surendra contested on a ticket of Visksheel Insaan Party and cornered around 16% votes, contributing in defeat of Shukla.
Minister of state for food and civil supplies, Ranvendra Singh alias Dhunni Singh, was defeated by Usha Maurya in Hussainganj seat by a margin of over 25,000 votes. In 2017 assembly elections, Dhunni had defeated Maurya, then with the Congress. This time she took the revenge while contesting on a SP ticket.
UP ministers Chandrika Prasad Tewari (Brahmin), Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar (Kurmi) and Sangeeta Balwant (Bind OBC) too got defeated by SP candidates Anil Kumar, ata-Ur-Rehman and Jai Kishan Sahu, respectively in Chitrakoot, Baheri and Ghazipur Sadar. The three had been accommodated in the Yogi cabinet during an expansion in September last year.
Minister of state for agriculture, Lakhan Singh Rajpoot was defeated by Pradeep Yadav of SP in Dibiyapur assembly seat of Auraiyya by a slender margin of less than 500 votes. A Lodh OBC, Lakhan had defeated Pradeep by a margin of around 12,000 votes in 2017.
The biggest upset was that of deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya who lost to SP’s Pallavi Patel, the elder sister of Apna Dal (S) chief Anupriya Patel in Sirathu assembly seat in Kaushambi. Maurya, the key non-Yadav OBC face of BJP, was one of the tallest political figures after CM Yogi Adityanath to contest the UP assembly elections. His candidature was declared along with Yogi by Union minister and BJP UP election incharge Dharmendra Pradhan.
Maurya’s defeat, experts said, came against the backdrop of a pointed bipolar contest between the BJP and the SP. Maurya who had won the seat in 2012 assembly elections for the first time, could not capitalize on the consolidation of non-Yadav OBC even as Pallavi found a steadfast support of the Kurmi community which has a sizeable population in the region. The setback came despite PM Narendra Modi’s rally in Kaushambi and consistent campaign by Anupriya in favour of Maurya.
The other big name from the BJP to have bitten the dust was sugarcane minister Suresh Rana who lost from the Thana Bhawan assembly seat in Shamli. A Thakur, Rana was defeated by RLD’s Ashraf Ali Khan. In 2012, Khan had lost to Rana by a slender margin of less than 300 votes. In 2017 assembly elections, Rana had won convincingly defeating his nearest rival Abdul Waris Khan of BSP by a margin of over 16,000 votes. This time, there was a consolidation of Muslim vote bank in favour of SP-backed RLD’s Muslim candidate.
So was the case with rural development minister Rajendra Pratap Singh (Moti Singh) who lost from Patti assembly seat in Pratapgarh. The four-time MLA was defeated by SP’s Ram Singh by 22,000 votes.
The other prominent UP minister to lose the election was Satish Chandra Dwivedi who lost from Itwa seat in Siddharthnagar district. Dwivedi, the basic education minister, was defeated by former speaker and SP veteran Mata Prasad Pandey by a margin of just over 1,600 votes. A former state vice-president of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student arm of the RSS, Dwivedi happens to be an associate professor of economics at a degree college in Kushinagar.
UP sports minister Upendra Tewari, too, lost from the Phephna seat which he had been winning since 2012 assembly elections. He was defeated by SP’s Sangram Singh who came third in the 2017 assembly elections after BSP’s Ambika Chaudhary. With Ambika back in SP, Sangram received a consolidated support of the party.
Likewise, minister of state for parliamentary affairs Anand Swaroop Shukla was defeated by SP’s Jai Prakash in the Bairia assembly seat in Ballia. In 2017, Prakash was defeated by BJP’s Surendra Singh who was denied a ticket this time by the BJP. Shukla who had won from Ballia sadar in 2017 was shifted to make way for UP BJP vice-president Daya Shankar Singh, who won. Surendra contested on a ticket of Visksheel Insaan Party and cornered around 16% votes, contributing in defeat of Shukla.
Minister of state for food and civil supplies, Ranvendra Singh alias Dhunni Singh, was defeated by Usha Maurya in Hussainganj seat by a margin of over 25,000 votes. In 2017 assembly elections, Dhunni had defeated Maurya, then with the Congress. This time she took the revenge while contesting on a SP ticket.
UP ministers Chandrika Prasad Tewari (Brahmin), Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar (Kurmi) and Sangeeta Balwant (Bind OBC) too got defeated by SP candidates Anil Kumar, ata-Ur-Rehman and Jai Kishan Sahu, respectively in Chitrakoot, Baheri and Ghazipur Sadar. The three had been accommodated in the Yogi cabinet during an expansion in September last year.
Minister of state for agriculture, Lakhan Singh Rajpoot was defeated by Pradeep Yadav of SP in Dibiyapur assembly seat of Auraiyya by a slender margin of less than 500 votes. A Lodh OBC, Lakhan had defeated Pradeep by a margin of around 12,000 votes in 2017.
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