Sympathy wave to rule two Uttar Pradesh bypolls

Lucknow, Feb 28 With two assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh having been declared vacant, political parties are now gearing up for bypolls.

The two seats declared vacant are Bangarmau in Unnao that was held by expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar. The seat was declared vacant earlier this week after Sengar was convicted in a rape case.

The other seat is Suar in Rampur from where the election of Abdullah Azam has been set aside for forgery in his birth certificate documents.

Both Kuldeep Sengar and Abdullah Azam are in jail for their offences.

According to sources, the Sengar family is planning to field the disqualified legislator's wife Sangeeta Sengar in the by-election in Bangarmau.

Sangeeta Sengar is the chairperson of the zila panchayat and also wields clout in the area.

"The people here know that Kuldeep Sengar has been falsely implicated in the case due to political rivalry. There is sympathy for him and if Sangeeta contests, she will be able to underline his innocence and get sympathy votes," said a family member on condition of anonymity.

The Sengar family is considering the option of fielding Sangeeta as an independent candidate since the BJP may not support her.

In Rampur, the main candidate could be from the Khan family and he will contest on the Samajwadi Party symbol.

Reports suggest that Azam Khan's elder son Adeeb Azam Khan could be fielded by the Samajwadi Party which has already decided to stand in support of the Khan family.

Adeeb Azam Khan has, so far, remained away from politics.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav had visited the Khan family in jail on Thursday and had accused the ruling BJP of pursuing the politics of vendetta.

The party would want to whip up a sympathy wave since Azam Khan, his wife Tanzeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam are already in jail.

The BJP, on the other hand, is determined to win both the seats.

"We have set an example by expelling Kuldeep Sengar and handing over the case to CBI. We made no efforts to shield him. The Samajwadi Party on the other hand is protecting Azam Khan who is an epitome of corruption. We are going to win both the seats," said BJP spokesperson Chandra Mohan.

The BSP is still undecided whether it will contest the by-elections or not.

The Congress, on the other hand, is overconfident of its prospects.

( With inputs from IANS )