There are still about six months left for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2027, but political activities regarding seat sharing have intensified in the BJP-led NDA. Jayant Chaudhary, Sanjay Nishad and Omprakash Rajbhar are trying to strengthen their claim for more seats through their respective social base and regional influence.
kNEWS dESKWhile BJP faces the challenge of maintaining its organization and electoral strength to capture power in Uttar Pradesh, its allies want to increase their political stake. The distribution of seats in the alliance may not have been decided yet before the elections, but preparations for it and the politics of pressure have already started.
Rashtriya Lok Dal President Jayant Chaudhary is seen continuously active in Western Uttar Pradesh these days. Along with political programs in the area, his statements on Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav are also in discussion. This is being seen as a strategy to strengthen the alliance with BJP and open a front against its old political rival.
RLD has its own influence among Jat voters and farmer politics in western UP. This base is the biggest political strength of Jayant Chaudhary. It is believed that in the 2027 elections, the party wants to stake its claim around the 33 seats it won during the 2022 alliance.
In political discussions, Jayant Chaudhary's wife Charu Chaudhary is also expected to contest elections from an assembly seat in Western UP. However, no official announcement has been made on this yet. If this happens, then the political activism of the family can also become a part of the election strategy for RLD.
Sanjay Nishad also increased his activism
In Purvanchal, President of Nishad Party, Sanjay Nishad has been vocal in front of the government regarding his political demands. After the murder of Vinod Nishad in Gonda, he demanded strict action, staged a protest and met the Chief Minister. He also spoke about the encounter and demanded strict action against the accused.
This stance of Sanjay Nishad is not being limited to just one criminal case. His influence among the Nishad community and the role of voters of this community in many seats of Purvanchal gives him an important position in seat sharing with BJP.
Political speculations had intensified after Sanjay Nishad's meeting with SP leader Mata Prasad Pandey. Although it was described as a courtesy call, such meetings are seen from a political perspective in an election year. After this, Sanjay Nishad also met the General Secretary of BJP and demanded more seats.
The message of Nishad Party is that it wants to increase its political stake while being in NDA. Sanjay Nishad has been denying the idea of separating from the alliance, but is maintaining pressure regarding his demands.
What was the performance of the allies in 2022?
In the 2022 assembly elections, NDA's allies contested elections on different seats. Rashtriya Lok Dal contested 33 seats, Nishad Party 11, Apna Dal (Sonelal) 17 and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party contested 19 seats.
This previous electoral mathematics can become an important basis in the seat distribution of 2027. Allies can demand more seats from BJP on the basis of their past performance, organization and social influence.
Omprakash Rajbhar also engaged in strengthening the organization
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party President Omprakash Rajbhar is also intensifying the preparations of his party in Purvanchal. He has put the organization in election mode by giving responsibilities at the assembly level to about 40 leaders.
Rajbhar has been continuously claiming that his party's influence extends to about 128 assembly seats. This claim is being seen as an attempt to strengthen his political reach and his position in seat distribution.
Anupriya Patel's strategy is different
Apna Dal (Sonelal) President and Union Minister Anupriya Patel is also maintaining her political role in NDA. However, his method is different from other colleagues. While staying within the government, she has been expressing her views on issues related to social justice, backward classes and recruitment.
His activism has been visible on issues related to 69 thousand teacher recruitment, contractual recruitment and backward classes. She does not seem to be as vocal as other allies in demanding seats, but Apna Dal's organization and influence among the Kurmi community is her important political strength.
Four allies, four different social equations
The political strength of NDA's allies can be understood through different regions and social basis.
- Jayant Chaudhary: Western UP, Jat voters and farmer politics.
- Sanjay Nishad: Purvanchal and Nishad Society.
- Omprakash Rajbhar: Rajbhar Society and Extremely Backward Class.
- Anupriya Patel: Organization of Kurmi community, backward classes and Apna Dal.
BJP has a wide organization and a large vote base, but the allies have social hold in their respective areas. This equation becomes the basis of negotiation of seats in the electoral alliance.
For allies, assembly seats are not just a means to contest elections. More seats means more MLAs, stronger organization and more political influence in the cabinet in case the government is formed.
Apart from this, the number of seats also plays an important role in future talks with BJP. Therefore, every allied party wants to increase its political value as much as possible before the elections.
Challenge before BJP also
BJP would naturally want to contest elections on as many seats as possible. With this, if the government is formed, the party will have more MLAs and its hold on power will remain strong.
But BJP also faces the risk of giving very few seats to its allies. If the allies are dissatisfied, it may affect the alliance workers and voters. The biggest strength of an electoral alliance is the transfer of votes in favor of each other.
In such a situation, the negotiation of seats in NDA before UP 2027 is not just a game of numbers, but also a question of social equation, regional influence and share in power. In the coming months, it will be important to see how many seats BJP gives to its allies and how much each party is able to strengthen its claim.