Kaushambi Battleground: How 2022 Results Reshaped Three Seats

Parties across Uttar Pradesh are preparing for the 2027 Assembly polls, and the political temperature is rising steadily. The BJP is hoping to secure a third consecutive term, while the opposition is seeking a shift in power. Attention is also turning to three Kaushambi constituencies, Sirathu, Chayal and Manjhanpur. The 2022 results in these seats revealed contrasting trends and changing alliances.

The Sirathu contest in 2022 was one of the state's most closely followed battles. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya contested for the BJP, while Pallavi Patel represented the Samajwadi Party alliance. Pallavi Patel won by a margin of 7,337 votes, scoring 1,06,278 to Maurya's 98,941. Munsab Ali of the BSP secured 10,073 votes to finish third. Seema Devi of Congress received 845 votes, and NOTA was chosen by 727 voters.

In Chayal, Pooja Pal of the Samajwadi Party won in 2022 by defeating BSP's Atul Kumar Dwivedi. Congress finished third. Pooja Pal later moved to the BJP. The seat has mostly elected legislators from Dalit and backward communities. Although the BSP once dominated the constituency, it lost ground in 2017 during the Modi wave and fell to third place. The Samajwadi Party's 2022 win was the first time it had captured this seat.

Manjhanpur seat came into existence following the 1974 delimitation. The inaugural election in 1977 was won by Nathu Ram of the Janata Party. In 2022, Indrajeet Saroj of the Samajwadi Party beat BJP's Lal Bahadur by 23,878 votes. Lal Bahadur polled 97,628 votes, while BSP's Neetu Kanaujia finished third with 25,430 votes. The result was Saroj's fifth win from Manjhanpur.

Caste dynamics remain central to Manjhanpur's electoral politics. Dalit voters, including the Pasi and Dhobi communities, backward classes and upper-caste groups all influence results. Dalits constitute the largest share of voters in the area, at roughly 21 percent.