Uttar Pradesh (UP) is one of the largest states of India and the most populated state in India. And that is the reason that the state has always been most important for every political party whether its regional or national. But this time, the UP is equally politically interesting as Punjab, which will also go for Elections next year. Other Than UP and Punjab, three other states Uttrakhand, Goa and Manipur will also go for polls next year.
And it is generally said in Indian Politics that the UP is the central point of the national politics and it is no wrong as UP has given India most of its Prime ministers and the Presidents. But unfortunately, the state that has given so many national leaders to the country is still one of the most undeveloped states in India. The people of UP had voted for the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) Government with great hopes in 2013 and given them a full majority, but now people are feeling betrayed. However, current Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is still the first choice for the post of next CM, but the people are not willing to trust his political party SP.
There is a great confusion among the general voter of the state and that is the reason that the upcoming assembly elections are going to be really interesting and will decide the fortune and future of the state. Right now, UP is in the national limelight and the central Point of the political arena of major political parties.
Schedule for UP assembly Elections in 2017:
As the tenure of the current government is going to end in June 2017, the state will most probably go for polls either at the end of April or initial May.
However, no official dates have been announced so far, but whenever the official dates will be announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI), we will update you with that.
Major Political Parties in Uttar Pradesh:
- Samajwadi Party (SP)
- Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
- Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)
- Indian National Congress (INC)
- Others
Possible CM Candidates from Various Political Parties:
SP has no other option than projecting Akhilesh Yadav as the CM Candidate, as the various early opinion polls are still suggesting that he is the first choice for the CM among the voters. Even there is a visible split among the party leaders. But looking at the crucial test of their works, the party will possibly project Akhilesh for CM Candidate again.
BSP, which is led by Mayawati, also has no face other than their national convener and former UP Chief Minister Mayawati. But, this is not the same UP as it was in earlier 2000’s. Caste and Religion are the major factors in UP but this time, people want development in their lives. Though the Caste based equations are going to affect but will not be going to be the kingmakers this time.
BJP will definitely go for polls without announcing any name for the CM Candidature, but PM Narendra Modi could be the possible face of the party for the Election Campaign, but the party also needs to remember that this tactic didn’t favour the party in Bihar Elections.
Congress (INC) is clear with its face for the state CM, as they have announced the name of Senior Congress leader and former Delhi CM Sheila Dixit for the post. The party is desperately looking to switch the ‘Brahman’ vote bank in the state as that is the reason they have presented a Brahman face for the CM Candidature in the state.
Major Problems/Issues of the state:
There are not just a few issues, which could be the talking points in the upcoming elections but there is a complete long list of such issues. Some of them are as following:
Development, Lower Quality Infrastructure, Electricity, Unemployment, Lower Quality Education, Worsening situation of Law and order in the state, Extreme poverty, Hygiene, Communal Tension and many more.
Current Political Scenario in the State:
The current Political scenario is very much confusing in the state and no Political analyst or expert is able to identify the mood of the voter of UP. However, it is clear that the common man in the state wants the change and that could be predicted after the 2014 General Elections results in which BJP+ have won the 74 out of 80 seats, whereas ruling SP only won four seats that too only with the ‘Yadav’ Family candidates and Congress has got two with only ‘Gandhi’ family candidates and BSP failed to open its account in the state.
However, for now, the political scenario is different than 2014, as even people are also not happy with the working style of Central Government too. So the answer to the question that in which side these votes are going to swing is still a mystery.
Ruling SP government will definitely face strong anti-incumbency, but Akhilesh Yadav (Present CM) will remain the first choice for Chief Ministerial post. Now it will be interesting to see how much this will benefit the SP in 2017 elections.
However, BSP, the major opposition party in the state failed to take the advantage of the swinging votes and keep its vote bank united too. The Party Convener and Supremo Mayawati is still not changing her campaign style and policies and still is stuck to her typical style of pleasing the Dalits and Mahadalits in the state. If she will not change her policies, she might be ready to face its consequences in the future.
Also, BJP has also failed to keep the momentum with it as it emerged as the single power in 2014 General elections. There are multiple reasons to that but the major one is the irresponsible and controversial remarks its leaders. And the best example of this is the recent example of BJP leader Dayashankar Singh’s controversial comment on Mayawati which had united the BSP Workers and voters, and that will definitely going to hurt the party in the future.
But despite the fact, BJP has an important role to play in the future as they hold a strong grip among the higher class and Brahman voters.
On the other side, to neglect to the influence of Congress in the state could prove out to be a bigger mistake as the party leadership is trying all of their hard to get good numbers in the state as party president Rahul Gandhi is campaigning from last more than a month in the state. And even now Priyanka Chopra will also join hands with Rahul to campaign in the state.
What are Opinion Polls suggesting about 2017 UP Elections?
Many of the Opinion polls have been conducted so far and even they are too early to predict anything. However, India TV-C Voter and ABP News conducted the opinion polls and that is suggesting a clear Hung-Assembly in the state. The confusion of the voter can be felt easily in the opinion polls.
The opinion Polls Results are as follows:
|
Political Parties |
India TV-C Voter Seat Projection (Vote Percentage) |
ABP News Seat Projection (Vote Percentage) |
| SP |
134-150(24%) |
141-151(30%) |
| BSP |
95-111(34%) |
103-113(26%) |
| BJP+ |
133-149(30%) |
124-134(27%) |
| INC |
5-13(10%) |
8-4(5%) |
|
Others |
4-12(3%) |
6-12(12%) |
However, these polls were conducted in August this year, but still, there is almost a year left to go for polls and there could be a lot of fluctuation to be seen in the politics of UP.
Anyhow whenever the latest opinion polls or any major update will come in our way, we will update you with you that. So stay tuned with us for all the updates related to the UP Elections.
