UP bypolls: Yogi Adityanath asserts authority with 7-2 victory; 'batenge to katenge" to remain central theme
Yogi Adityanath's political authority in the state's politics, especially after the recent reverses in Lok Sabha polls. At the same time, the Congress not contesting and the BSP's yet another below-par show meant that despite losing ground, the Samajwadi Party continues to dominate the opposition space in the most populous state.
Maharashtra Election Results
Jharkhand Election Results
Bypoll Election Results
The results were immaterial from the issue of the UP BJP government's stability and yet much pride was at stake, especially for the ruling party as the bypolls were the first electoral test of the BJP-led-NDA and INDIA bloc after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in which the opposition had limited the BJP to its worst show in UP since 2014. The saffron party had won 33 seats, while the SP had emerged on top with 37 seats out of 80.
In each of the seven assembly seats that the BJP won on Saturday, all the winning candidates were unanimous that Adityanath and his call for unity were a «big factor» in their victory.
That's why even before the Election Commission officially confirmed the byelection results, a confident Adityanath arrived at the UP BJP office in Lucknow around 3.30 pm on Saturday to reiterate the importance of «ek hain toh safe hain» and «batenge toh katenge» (united we are safe, divided we perish)' — slogans that virtually became a call for Hindu unity to counter's the opposition's «caste politics» in the mini-polls.
Through his «batenge toh katenge' slogan that
