Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha elections 2024: Voting date, results, candidates, main parties, and schedule unveiled

Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha elections 2024: Voting date, results, candidates, main parties, and schedule unveiled

Muzaffarnagar Parliamentary constituency, one of Uttar Pradesh's 80 Lok Sabha seats, holds significant sway in Indian politics due to its diverse demographic and intricate caste dynamics.

Muzaffarnagar has witnessed intense political competition between the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), more recently. The Jats make up approximately 18 per cent of the total voter base. The Dalit vote bank, with a share of nearly 14 per cent, also plays a significant role in the constituency.

The electoral history of Muzaffarnagar is also shaped by communal tensions and intricate caste dynamics, and significantly influences the political landscape. The 2013 communal riots in Muzaffarnagar were among the worst in Uttar Pradesh's history.

The 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots played a big role in elevating BJP leader Sanjeev Kumar Balyan from a local leader to a Union minister. Balyan defeated Kadir Rana of the BSP in 2014, and then again emerged victorious in 2019, albeit with a slim margin of 6,526 votes, defeating Ajit Singh of the RLD.

This year, prominent candidates for the Lok Sabha seat include Baliyan, also the Union Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries; SP's Jat candidate and former Rajya Sabha MP Harendra Malik, on behalf of the I.N.D.I.A bloc; and Dara Singh Prajapati from the BSP.

The RLD, which had been in alliance with the SP and BSP during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and with the SP in the 2022 assembly polls, has aligned with the BJP this time around.

Despite the BJP's stronghold, challenges have emerged, particularly from dissatisfied segments like the Jat community, which expressed discontent in both the 2014 and 2019 polls.

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Muzaffarnagar will be held during the first phase of polling, on April 19, while counting is on June 4.