Elections for Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state – by population and area – are scheduled for March 2022. In the previous assembly elections, the BJP won 312 seats out of 403 seats and came into power after 14 years, After the landslide victory, the parliamentary board of Bharatiya Janata Party decided to have Yogi Adityanath as the next chief minister of the state. His term is set to expire on 14th March 2022, following which a new cabinet would be sworn in. Now that the Assembly elections are coming close, political analysts have started to gauge the mood of the public. With Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav both pushing for a win, BJP’s task this time round would become tough. Moreover, Priyanka Gandhi’s projection as the Congress party's chief ministerial candidate by some of the senior party leaders is likely to boost the morale of the party workers. Here are 10 Uttar Pradesh politicians who one should watch out for ahead of the 2022 assembly elections:
1. Yogi Adityanath (Bhartiya Janata Party): Incumbent Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath is a Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) politician and a Hindu monk. He has been the Member of Parliament from the Gorakhpur constituency, Uttar Pradesh, for five consecutive terms since 1998. Belonging to the Thakur community, his voter base is still loyal to him. However, BJP’s likeability to attract Brahmin votes this time round might decide if he will get to keep his seat or not.
2. Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party): Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav is a Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and an MP from the Azamgarh constituency. He became the youngest politician to hold the Chief Ministerial office at the age of 38, back in 2012. His first significant success in politics was being elected as the Member of the Lok Sabha for the Kannauj constituency in 2000. Being from the Yadav clan, Akhilesh has a crowd of loyal supporters throughout the state. His manoeuvrability with other castes and merger with other state governments would predict if he will land on the Chief Minister seat again or not.
3. Mayawati (Bahujan Samaj Party): Former Chief Minister of UP and BSP President Mayawati is a political stalwart whose role in the upcoming Assembly elections would be extremely impactful. She has served as the CM of UP on 4 different terms.
4. Asaduddin Owaisi (All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen): Member of Parliament from Hyderabad constituency, Asaduddin Owaisi is an All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM) politician. He is a four-time Member of Parliament and has been regularly listed one among the 500 Most Influential Muslims of the world. His role in the UP assembly elections will be influential as he will carry the majority of the Muslim votes in the state, which constitute a large share of the population.
5. Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal): Currently serving as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Anupriya Patel is an Apna Dal (Sonelal) politician from the Mirzapur constituency. She was the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from 2016 to 2019.
6. Priyanka Gandhi (Indian National Congress): General secretary of the All India Congress Committee for Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi is a new addition to the Congress cadre in UP. She still has to prove and establish herself as a strong politician and the upcoming Assembly elections might prove to be the perfect stage for her. She has not held any official post in the government yet. However, she is being considered as a wild card for Congress and can create a furore in the upcoming elections.
7. Sanjay Nishad (Nishad Party): Founder of the Nishad Party, Sanjay Nishad is an ex-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) politician. Nishad decided to opt-out of the BSP and form his own party, aiming to work for the empowerment of backward communities like Nishad, Kewats, Bind, Mallah, Kashyap, Manjhi, Gond in Uttar Pradesh.
8. Om Prakash Rajhbar (Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party): President of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Om Prakash Rajbhar is a member of the 17th Legislative Assembly from Zahoorabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh. He served as the minister of the Department of Backward Classes Welfare and the Department of Disabled People development in the Yogi Adityanath led BJP government in UP but was sacked in 2019 due to anti-alliance activities.
9. Chandrashekhar Azad (Azad Samaj Party): Founder of the Azad Samaj Party, Chandrashekhar Azad is an Indian lawyer and a Dalit-Bahujan activist. He has been creating ripples with his activism throughout the state, focusing on bringing out atrocities against the underprivileged in the state. Belonging to the Jatav community, same as Mayawati, his role in the upcoming assembly elections could change the wave of votes. He might cut into the votes of BSP.
10. Jitin Prasada (Bhartiya Janata Party): Former Minister of State for Human Resource Department from Dhaurahra constituency, Jitin Prasada was a Congress politician who switched sides with the BJP earlier this year. Considering the importance of Brahmin votes this time around in the upcoming elections, Prasada can be a valuable addition to the BJP cadre. However, his history with gaining votes from his own community has been poor, as he lost the previous election that he fought on his bastion.
