Setback for BJP: Independent candidate Kanwar Hasan joins RLD ahead of Kairana By-Polls

The move is likely to have negative repercussions for BJP, like it happened in Phulpur and Gorakhpur by-polls, where BJP had to lose because of united opposition.

Counting to begin shortly.

Kairana, UP: In a major disappointment for Bharatiya Janta Party, independent MLA Kanwar Hasan on Thursday, joined Rashtriya Lok Dal ahead of Kairana by-polls. This move can prove to be fateful for BJP, as the coalition can now have a benefit of 20,000 votes; as, he likely to attract twenty to thirty thousand Muslim voters in the district. Kanwar Hasan is a relative of RLD candidate Tabassum Hasan. The bypolls in Kairana Lok Sabha seat is set to take place on May 28. The seat was vacated after BJP MP Hukum Singh’s demise. The move is likely to have negative repercussions for BJP, like it happened in Phulpur and Gorakhpur by-polls, where BJP had to lose because of united opposition. fter the party's shock defeat in the bye-elections in Gorakhpur and Phulpur, the BJP seems to be taking no chances in Kairana. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is leading a pack of UP ministers campaigning in this communally sensitive Lok Sabha constituency On Tuesday, he and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya campaigned in Saharanpur district, in which part of Kairana constituency falls. Opposition parties too are going all out for victory, which they feel will set the tone for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, will campaign here for the joint opposition candidate, Rashtriya Lok Dal's Tabassum Hasan.