Saharanpur

With almost 18 lakh voters, Saharanpur has a high concentration of Muslims at 41%, and the current MP from this seat is the BSP’s Haji Fazlur Rahman.SC voters comprise 22% of the vote share. The BJP held this seat between 2014 and 2019. The BJP lost the seat with a small margin of 22,000 votes in 2019. The BSP has fielded Majid Ali this time, while the BJP has repeated its candidate Raghab Lakhanpal. The Congress, in alliance with SP, has fielded Danish Ali from the seat. A tight contest is expected as the BSP and SP-Congress vie for the Muslim vote bank while the BJP leans towards polarisation of Hindu votes. The BJP holds three assembly segments out of five, with the other two under the SP.<br><br>Saharanpur farmers also participated to some extent in the farmers’ protests. Initially supportive of a proposed 100 MW solar plant in Saharanpur, farmers hoped for added income by surrendering their fertile land. However, they're now dissatisfied over the absence of jobs or fair compensation and are advised by local authorities to seek legal recourse. Increasing urbanisation has put a stress on resources and unemployment is also an issue that locals are grappling with in Saharanpur.