The Samajwadi Party and the Congress are preparing for by-elections for 10 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh and these parties, part of the opposition alliance 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance' (INDIA), are targeting the state government for its "undemocratic" working style, "deteriorating" law and order and recent wolf attacks. The schedule for the by-elections has not been announced yet. The by-elections are being held due to the current MLAs being elected to the Lok Sabha and the disqualification of an MLA. 

SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said on Sunday, "The government has failed to stop wolf attacks. This has made the people of the entire state insecure. We are going to raise this issue in the by-elections." Meanwhile, Congress' Uttar Pradesh unit president Ajay Rai also said that the government has failed to control wolf attacks and the "terror" of these animals is moving towards the cities. He said, "There are burning issues like poor law and order, fake police encounters, rising inflation and unemployment in the state. But the terror of wolves is also an important issue." 

Yogi government is making every effort to deal with wolves

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the state government is making every possible effort to solve the problem of wolf attacks. A population of about 15 thousand in 50 villages of Mahsi tehsil of Bahraich district is facing the terror of man-eating wolves these days. So far, the death of six people has been confirmed in the attacks of these animals. It is being said that two more people have also died in wolf attacks but it has not been confirmed yet. The forest department has caught four of the six wolves identified. The remaining two wolves have been out of the reach of the forest department's 165-member team for the last 10 days. This terror that started in the name of wolves has also reached other districts. However, most of the attacks in other districts are said to have been carried out by jackals. 

Animal attacks in Sitapur too

There are also reports of suspected animal attacks in Sitapur district, located near the capital Lucknow. On September 2, three women were injured in an attack by unknown animals in a village. Local people claimed that the women were attacked by wolves, but the forest department suspects the attack to be by jackals based on animal footprints and other evidence. Meanwhile, on Saturday, two children and five men were injured in alleged jackal attacks in two villages of the Jahanabad area of ​​Pilibhit district. 

BJP's reply to Congress-SP's allegations

Responding to the allegations leveled by the Congress and Samajwadi Party against the government over wolf attacks, BJP state spokesperson Alok Verma said, "Whether it is the wolves of the jungle or the wolves of the society, dangerous animals cannot be allowed to roam freely." Verma said, "Both the Samajwadi Party and the Congress support the wolves of the society (criminals). The Samajwadi Party supports them directly, while the Congress supports them indirectly." Confirming that the by-election will be contested in alliance with the Samajwadi Party, Congress state president Rai said, "We will contest the by-election as part of the 'India' alliance. We have demanded the five seats held by the BJP and its allies. The seat sharing is yet to be finalized." 

Akhilesh will be liberal in seat sharing

Samajwadi Party's Rajendra Chaudhary said that it has been agreed that "we will fight the by-elections together." He said, "The party's national president (Akhilesh Yadav) will show generosity in this issue (seat sharing). Wherever they (Congress) feel that they can win, those seats will be given to them." The seats on which by-elections are to be held include Karhal, Milkipur, Katehari, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Mirapur, Phulpur, Majhawan and Sisamau. 

How many MLAs from which party

The BJP has 251 MLAs in the 403-member state assembly, while the opposition Samajwadi Party has 105 MLAs. BJP allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Nishad Party have 13 and five MLAs respectively. The two allies of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, Rashtriya Lok Dal, and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, have eight and six MLAs respectively. Congress and Jansatta Dal (Democratic) have two MLAs each, while the Bahujan Samaj Party has one member in the House.