Meerut: In the western Uttar Pradesh where Muslims have a sizeable population, both SP and BSP have decided to field a dozen seats each, leaving three seats for RLD in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Most of the communally sensitive districts of Meerut zone, like Saharanpur, Meerut, Bulandshahr, and Gautambuddh Nagar, have gone into BSP’s kitty. Besides, both seats in Bijnor district, from where BSP chief Mayawati began her Lok Sabha stint in 1989, have gone to her party.Saharanpur, which has a large Dalit population, witnessed the worst clashes involving police and Dalits in 2017 that gave rise to Bhim Army, another Dalit outfit which has pledged its support to Mayawati.The Samajwadi Party will contest on Ghaziabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Etah and Moradabad seats. Out of the seats in its share, the SP had won Kannauj, Mainpuri, Badaun and Firozabad in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and retained Mainpuri in a by-election.The Kairana seat in Shamli district is an interesting addition in its kitty.In the 2016 bypoll, the grand alliance had fielded Tabassum Hasan on an RLD ticket against the daughter of sitting MP Hukum Singh whose death had necessitated the bypoll. The experiment to field a joint candidate against BJP reaped benefits as the stronghold of BJP fell into the hands of opposition with first Muslim MP elected from the state in 16th Lok Sabha. In a way, Kairana victory became a stepping stone for the SP-BSP-RLD alliance as it began to take shape.Three seats – Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar and Mathura – were left for Rashtriya Lok Dal. Two seats were initially allocated to the RLD, but now SP has given one more seat from its quota to Ajit Singh’s party. Presently, it holds the Kairana seat which it won in a by-poll.Box:27 seats of west UPSP – Kairana, Moradabad, Rampur, Sambhal, Ghaziabad, Hathras, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Badaun, Barielly, PilibhitBSP – Saharanpur, Meerut, Bijnor, Nagina, Amroha, Gautambudhh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Aonla, Shahjahanpur.

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