New Delhi: The Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Tej Pratap Yadav has taken an early lead in the Karhal assembly bypoll in Uttar Pradesh, where voting was held on November 20. This by-election is shaping up to be a critical contest between SP and the BJP, with Tej Pratap Yadav, the nephew of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, running against BJP’s Anujesh Pratap Singh.

Anujesh Pratap Singh, a former SP leader who joined the BJP in 2017, is married to Sandhya Yadav, the sister of Dharmendra Yadav, Samajwadi Party MP from Azamgarh. Singh is attempting to leverage his switch to the BJP and appeal to traditional Yadav voters, hoping to gain support from various sections of society.

Tej Pratap Yadav, a key figure for the SP in Karhal, is contesting from a seat located just four kilometers from Akhilesh Yadav’s native village of Saifai in Etawah district. This constituency is part of his wife Dimple Yadav’s Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat and has remained a stronghold for the Samajwadi Party since 1993, with a brief BJP victory in 2002.

The bypoll was called after Akhilesh Yadav resigned from the Karhal assembly seat following his election to the Lok Sabha from Kannauj.