In a major boost to Opposition unity, the Lok Dal candidate on Thursday, 24 May, withdrew in favour of his sister-in-law and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) nominee Tabassum Hasan in the Kairana Lok Sabha by-election in Uttar Pradesh.
Lok Dal's Kanwar Hasan also announced his support for the RLD nominee who is being backed by the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Congress and the Nishad Party.
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of BJP MP Hukum Dev Singh, who won the seat in 2014 by a huge margin in a bitterly polarised contest following communal riots in the region.
The development, which could unite the minority vote in favour of the RlD, could make the going tough for Mriganka Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate who is the daughter of Hukum Singh, whose death necessitated the by-election.
Dalit-rights organisation Bhim Army has also reportedly lent its support to the Mahagathbandhan in that state for the upcoming polls. Organisation leader Chandrashekhar Azad has reportedly written a letter of support to the Opposition parties.
The Kairana parliamentary constituency, with nearly 16 lakh voters, consists of five assembly segments — Shamli, Thanabhawan, Kairana, Gangoh and Nakur. The voting for the bypoll will take place on 28 May and the results will be declared on 31 May.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is campaigning in the area to ensure that there is no repeat of Gorakhpur and Phulpur where the BJP lost to the Samajwadi Party in Lok Sabha by-elections.
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