In the Uttar Pradesh byelection for the Chhanbey Assembly, Rinki Kol of the Apna Dal (Soneylal) won by a big margin. She beat Kirti Kol of the Samajwadi Party, who was her closest rival, by a margin of about 9,000 votes. This election was held in the Mirzapur district in eastern Uttar Pradesh. How did Rinki Kol bag the victoryThe tragic passing of Rahul Prakash Kol, the incumbent Apna Dal (S) MLA, necessitated the byelection. The party nominated Rinki Kol, the wife of Rahul Prakash Kol, in an effort to win the publics sympathy. The Samajwadi Party chose Kirti Kol once more to run against Rahul Prakash Kol in 2022, a race she lost by more than 32,000 votes. She is the daughter of Bhai Lal Kol, a former MLA for Chhanbey and MP for Robertganj. The Samajwadi Party and the BJPs ally Apna Dal (S) were anticipated to face off head-to-head in Chhanbey however, the Congress party also nominated a candidate, Ajay Kumar. Rinki Kol (Image: Twitter)Chhanbey has a primarily Kol population, with Patels, Brahmins, and Muslims scattered around the district. Anupriya Patel, who spent weeks canvassing, helped the BJP campaign extensively in the region. Arun Singh, a BJP Rajya Sabha member from Baidha village in the Chhanbey constituency, also attended a few public gatherings in support of the Apna Dal (S) candidate. Naresh Uttam Patel, the state president of the Samajwadi Party, was among the significant personalities who campaigned in Chhanbey.The BJPs campaign emphasised the “development work” done by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party focused their campaign on fundamental issues such as water scarcity in Chhanbeys dry region. Apna Dal (S) has won both of the byelections in Uttar Pradesh, with its win in Chhanbey. Prior to this, the party had also won the Suar seat in the Rampur district.
