Mayawati denies reports of alliance with Samajwadi Party, BSP won't contest Lok Sabha Bypolls in UP

Traditional political rivals in Uttar Pradesh are set to join hands as Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party will forge an alliance with Samajwadi Party in the upcoming Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh.

The bypolls will be held in Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats which were vacated by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya after they assumed positions in the state government.

The political realignment between the arch-rivals is being seen as a major ahead of the 2019 General Elections to Lok Sabha.

According to sources at BSP, the decision was taken after a marathon meeting at Mayawati’s residence on Thursday, News18 reported. BSP members are expected to make an official announcement shortly.

Our workers want to eliminate BJP and that is why the members of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have decided to extend support & vote for Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Nagendra Singh Patel in Phulpur by-poll, said Ashok Gautam, BSP Zonal Coordinator, Allahabad

The Samajwadi Party has fielded Pravin Nishad from Gorakhpur and Nagendra Singh Patel from Phulpur. It is yet to be seen, however, if the candidates' list will be revised after the announcement of a pre-poll alliance between SP and BSP.

Around 40 candidates have filed their nomination papers for the bypolls to these seats, including BJP candidates Upendra Shukla and Kaushalendra Singh Patel, and Congress candidates Sureetha Kareem and Manish Mishra.

For BJP, Gorakhpur assumes significance as it is the bastion of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who has represented it in Lok Sabha five times. Prior to Adityanath, Gorakhpur was thrice represented in the Parliament by his mentor Avaidyanath.