The political landscape of Uttar Pradesh has been defined by the parties over the last two decades. Both have, at some point, enjoyed power at the state level.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the two adversaries formed an unlikely alliance, which was called off due to the debate over transfer of vote share. The BSP shot up to 15 seats in the Parliament from zero, while the SP still only had five. The Samajwadi Party claimed that the BSP could win 15 seats owing to its alliance with the SP, while the BSP flaunted that it was stronger of the two. The upcoming by-poll contest may help one party stake claim to being superior.
The BSP believes that it can rise to power again by uniting Muslim and Dalit votes under its umbrella, with the BSP chief Mayawati exhorting voters from both groups to come together and ensure that the party wins more seats as it did during the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The BSP has also sent a message to Muslim voters that its adversary, the SP, has lost its core vote bank, and it was only the Muslim and Dalit votes it received that ensured the mere five seats it could win, of which, three went to Muslim candidates.