By Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net
The first phase of polling will be held on February 11, with 73 seats spanning over 15 districts will go to polls.
In 2012, the seats won by each party were SP with 25, BSP with 23, BJP with 11, and Congress 5, with RLD winning nine seats.
Interestingly, in the first phase of elections, the BJP did not win even a single reserved seat from a total of 11 seats. Obviously, this time the BJP is focussing on Dalits and Most Backward Class segment for better results. Among the 11 reserved seats in the first phase, the status is Congress 2, SP 2, BSP 4 and RLD 3.
This is also the stronghold of Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal, as it won all their nine seats in 2012. RLD, however, lost one seat Maant in Mathura district to Trinamool Congress in the by poll when RLD scion Jayant Choudhary had resigned.
A close analysis shows that Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Hapur and Hathras, remained the only districts where SP could win only win one seat in each district. SP failed to win even a single seat in districts—Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Mathura and Shamli.
Muzaffarnagar, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Agra districts have union ministers of BJP.
Among these 73 seats, a total of 11 Muslims candidates won in 2012 the tally, however, increased to 12 with the by-poll win in Kairana. The tally today is SP 7, BSP 4 and Congress 1.
Muslims narrowly lost nine seats—Kairana—though it was won by Muslim in by-poll) Thana Bhawan, Meerut, Meerut South, Dholana, Sikandarabad, Agra South, Firozabad and Kasganj seat.