BSP-SP failed to win 11 seats in UP in last four LS polls

By Anand Singh

New Delhi, Feb 6 (IANS) There are 11 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh which the prospective partners in the coming polls--Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP)--have never won since 1999.

The SP-led by former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and BSP-led by his predecessor Mayawati has announced that their alliance would contest the coming polls in an alliance sharing 38 seats each out of 80, leaving the remaining four to Congress and the RLD.

Both the parties have been unable to win seats like Baghpat, Hathras, Mathura, Bareilly and Pilibhit in western UP and Amethi, Rae Bareli, Kushinagar (earlier known as Padrauna) and Varanasi in eastern UP and
Lucknow and Kanpur in central UP.

These 11 constituencies have remained either with the BJP or the Congress or the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) during the period. Congress has not lost the Rae Bareli and the Amethi seats from the state since 1999.

Amethi, which is now represented by Congress President Rahul Gandhi, was earlier won by his mother Sonia Gandhi in 1999. Rahul Gandhi has not lost the three elections he contested starting from 2004 from Amethi.

While his mother now represents the Rae Bareli seat, which has also remained with the Congress since 1999. Congress's Captain Satish Sharma had won the 1999 election from Rae Bareli. Sonia Gandhi has been winning from the seat since 2004.

Even the high-profile seat of Varanasi, which is now rerpresented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been shared by BJP (thrice) and Congress (once) since 1999.

Before Modi, Varanasi was represented by BJP veteran Murali Manohar Joshi in 2009 and by BJP's Shankar Prasad Jaiswal in 1999. Congress's Rajesh Kumar Mishra defated BJP's Jaiswal in 2004 Lok Sabha polls from the seat.

Similarly, the BJP has not lost a single election from Lucknow, which is now represented by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee won the 1999 and 2004 general elections from Lucknow. After he retired from the active politics, the seat was represented by BJP's Lalji Tandon in 2009.

Pilibhit parliamentary seat has also not been won by the BSP or the SP since 1999. The seat is represented by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi since 1999. Maneka Gandhi had fought the 1999 election as an independent candidate. She again won from the Pilibhit in 2004 as a BJP candidate.

However, Maneka Gandhi used the seat to launch her son Varun Gandhi, who successfully contested in 2009 and won the election. Maneka Gandhi successfully returned from Pilibhit in 2014 elections.

Baghpat was represented by Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh in 1999, 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha polls. However, the seat was wrested away from the RLD in 2014 elections by BJP's Satyapal Singh. Similarly, Kanpur, went to the BJP's Murali Manohar Joshi in 2014 polls. Before Joshi, the seat was represented by Congress's Shriprakash Jaiswal from 1999 to 2009.

The seats of Hathras, Mathura and Bareilly, known to be dominated by Jat and Gujjar communities, have also remained with the BJP, the Congress and the RLD by turns since 1999. The SP and the BSP could not manage to win from these seats.

The SP and the BSP have also never won from the Kushinagar Lok Sabha seat since 1999. Kushinagar, which was earlier known as Padrauna in 1999 and 2004 was won by the BJP's Ram Nagina Mishra and Baleshwar Yadav of the NLP respectively.

Congress's Kumar Ratanjeet Pratap Narayan won the seat in 2009 polls, while the BJP's Rajesh Ranjan aka Guddu won it in 2014.

THe BJP had won 71 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha, while its ally Apna Dal had won two. The Congress managed to save its Rae Bareli and Amethi seats while the SP won from five seats.

The Congress had won 21 seats in the 2009 elections in the state while the SP and the BSP won 23 and 23 seats respectively. The BJP had won 10 seats and the RLD had won five seats.

In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, the BSP and the SP 19 and 35 seats respectively, while the Congress took 9 and the BJP 10. The RLD had won two seats. Five seats were won by other parties.

In 1999, when Uttarakhand was not carved out of the Uttar Pradesh, the SP and the BSP had won on 26 and 13 seats resspectively out of the 85 parliamentary seats. The BJP had won on 27 seats while the COngress managed to win only 10. The RLD won on one seat while others managed to win on 18 seats.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)