Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), Nov 1 (PTI) With the BSP and the Congress keeping away, the Gola Gokarannath bypoll on Thursday is likely to witness a direct fight between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party.

The bypoll was necessitated by the passing of BJP MLA Arvind Giri from a cardiac arrest on September 6. Campaigning closed at 6 pm on Tuesday.

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Over 3.90 lakh voters will decide the fate of seven contestants in the fray. But the main contest is likely to be between the BJP's Aman Giri, the son of Arvind Giri, and Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate and former Gola Gokarannath MLA Vinay Tiwari.

Despite a wave of sympathy for Giri following the death of his father, the BJP has not left anything to chance and deputed 40 star campaigners, including all major Cabinet ministers and party office-bearers.

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The BJP's campaign was led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

However, Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra 'Teni' was not part of the party's list of campaigners. Gola Gokarannath is part of Mishra's Kheri parliamentary constituency. Mishra has been in the eye of a storm following the alleged killing of four farmers last October, in which his son is an accused.

On Monday, Adityanath reminded the people of the benefits of a "double-engine" government as he solicited support for Giri. He also assured the electorate of clearing sugarcane dues at the earliest, establishment of a Chhoti Kashi corridor (along the lines of Kashi Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi) and a medical college.

He urged the people to elect Giri so as to carry on the legacy of his father.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) campaign was led by its state unit chief Naresh Uttam Patel with support from National General Secretary Ravi Prakash Verma, former ministers and other office-bearers. The SP leaders conducted door-to-door contacts and held public meetings to woo the electorate.

Party chief Akhilesh Yadav did not campaign.

The outcome of the bypoll will not have much impact on the state government with the BJP and its allies enjoying an overwhelming majority in the 403-member Assembly. But it would be a test of strength between the rivals in the run-up to the 2024 General Elections.

The SP candidate had represented Gola Gokarannath in 2012, when the constituency was carved out after abolishing the then-Hyderabad segment.

Before 2012, Kheri district had seven Assembly segments -- Mohammadi, Hyderabad, Paila, Lakhimpur, Srinagar, Nighasan and Dhaurahra.

After the 2012 delimitation, while Mohammadi, Lakhimpur, Srinagar, Nighasan and Dhaurahra were retained, three new constituencies -- Kasta, Paliya and Gola Gokarannath -- were added and Paila and Hyderabad abolished.

In 2012, the SP's Vinay Tiwari defeated the BSP's Simmi Bano by 19,329 votes to become Gola Gokarannath's first MLA. Tiwari had bagged 82,439 votes while Bano garnered 63,110. Arvind Giri, who had then contested on a Congress ticket, finished third with 60,871 votes.

Giri joined the BJP ahead of the 2017 polls and contested from his native constituency against the SP incumbent Tiwari.

Riding on the Modi-wave and his own ground support, Giri wrestled the seat from the SP with a margin of 55,017 votes.

During the 2022 polls, Giri retained the seat, again beating Tiwari by a margin of 29,294 votes.

Issues related to farmers, including cane dues, crop procurement and floods assume prominence during the polls.

Giri himself had sat on a dharna at the collectorate a few years back to highlight irregularities with paddy crop procurement.

On Monday, Adityanath assured cane farmers that their dues would be cleared before the start of the new crushing season and the government would not hesitate to put defaulting sugar unit managers behind bars in case of non-payment.

The development of the constituency, known as Chhoti Kashi due to the presence of a historical Lord Shiv Temple, is another emotive issue for the electorate.

Urging the people to fulfil Arvind Giri's dream, Adityanath promised to participate in the foundation ceremony of the promised Chhoti Kashi corridor.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)