UP election results 2024: Ram temple construction panel chief's son among turncoats whose last-minute gamble failed

LUCKNOW: A last minute gamble to switch political allegiance did not prove to be profitable for many who contested elections this time.
Except for two sitting MPs, Afzal Ansari from Ghazipur and Ram Shiromani Verma from Shravasti, both of whom moved from BSP to Samajwadi Party, three sitting MPs came second, while all those who switched to the BSP found themselves at a distant third.
Ansari, younger brother of Mukhtar Ansari, who died of a heart attack in jail earlier this year, won by a convincing margin of 1.24 lakh votes, while Verma defeated MLC Saket Mishra, son of former bureaucrat and chairperson of Ram Mandir construction committee Nripendra Mishra.
A major upset among the turncoats was that of Ritesh Pandey from Ambedkarnagar. A sitting MP, he moved from BSP to the BJP but lost his seat by 1.37 lakh votes even though his father enjoys considerable clout in the area.
Another MP to lose his seat was Danish Ali, who moved from BSP to Congress. Despite a continuous seesaw, Ali lost from Amroha by about 30,000 votes. Bhadohi MP Ramesh Bind, who was denied a ticket by BJP, switched to SP at the last second and was fielded from Mirzapur but lost by 38,000 votes.
Others who failed to reap any dividends from their move included Suresh Singh, Hitendra Kumar, Nand Kishore Pundhir, Sarika Singh Baghel, Sacchidanand Pandey and Rajendra Singh Solanki, all of whom moved from BJP to BSP, Vijendra Singh Bijnore, who switched from RLD to BSP, Abid Ali, who moved from SP to BSP and Majid Ali, who switched to BSP from Azad Samaj Party.