Both Rampur and Azamgarh seats were being represented by Azam Khan and Akhilesh Yadav, respectively. Bypolls were held as both the leaders were elected for state legislative assembly.
Lucknow: In a huge setback for Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP), the ruling BJP on Sunday won both Lok Sabha seats- Rampur and Azamgarh. BJP’s Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi won Rampur seat while Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirahua’ won Azamgarh seat. Nirahua defeated senior SP leader Dharmendra Singh Yadav by a margin of 8000 votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his wishes to both BJP winning candidates. In a tweet, Modi said, “The by-poll wins in Azamgarh and Rampur are historic. It indicates wide-scale acceptance and support for the double engine Governments at the Centre and in UP. Grateful to the people for their support. I appreciate the efforts of our Party Karyakartas.”
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in a tweet, said, “The double engine victory of the BJP government in Azamgarh and Rampur is giving a far-reaching message for the 2024 elections in the politics of the state. Congratulations to Shri Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi ji and Shri Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirhua’ ji! Thanks to the people of the state for this message and congratulations to the BJP workers!”
Both Rampur and Azamgarh seats were being represented by Azam Khan and Akhilesh Yadav, respectively. Bypolls were held as both the leaders were elected for state legislative assembly in March this year.
In Rampur bypoll, BJP had given ticket to Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi while Samajwadi Party had shown confidence in Asim Raja. Lodhi had recently join the BJP while Raja is very close to heavyweight Azam Khan. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP0 had not fielded its candidate from the seat.
In Azamgarh, BJP had fielded Bhojpuri film star Dinesh Lal Yadav while SP had fielded Akhilesh Yadav’s cousin Dharmendra Singh Yadav. The BSP had fielded Shah Alam who got more than two lakh votes. Shah Alam’s performance reportedly caused defeat of the SP leader.