UP bypolls: BJP looks at bettering tally, litmus test for oppn ahead of state elections

The bypolls to 11 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will be a "one-sided contest" and in BJP's favour, claim its leaders, even as the opposition, which was battered in the Lok Sabha polls, eyes to better its prospects before the 2022 state elections.

There are 110 candidates in the fray and the state chiefs of the BJP and the Congress are keen to start their parties' innings on a winning note ahead of the polls to the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly.

The bypolls will witness a four-cornered contest, with the BJP, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress fielding candidates for all the seats. It will be held on October 21 along with assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

"The Congress will become the voice of the deprived, harassed, farmers, youths and women in Uttar Pradesh. We have several challenges before us but with the blessings of seniors and the support of the youth, no one will be able to stop the party from coming to power in 2022," newly-appointed Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu had said during his visit to Lucknow on Friday.

He also exhorted workers to overcome all hurdles through determination and hard work, and work unitedly for taking the party ahead.

However, the BJP is eyeing a clean sweep in the bypolls in order to increase its tally in the state legislative assembly.

State BJP chief Swatantradev Singh claimed that the ongoing assembly bypolls in the state will eventually prove to be a "one-sided contest in favour of the BJP."