Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati denied the ticket to sitting Member of Parliament from Ghosi Atul Rai and instead gave it to Balkrishna Chauhan, former MP who left Congress and joined BSP only five days ago.
Sources said that Chauhan was declared the candidate from Ghosi by BSP. The decision was taken in the zone level meeting of the party in Azamgarh on Monday.
The Samajwadi Party has fielded Rajiv Rai from Ghosi, while the NDA has named Arvind Rajbhar, son of Cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar from this Lok Sabha constituency. On April 4, Balkrishna Chauhan left Congress and joined BSP.
Sources said that on Monday, on the instructions of BSP supremo Mayawati, Azamgarh zone incharge Ghanshyam Chandra Kharwar announced the candidate.
Chauhan was a BSP MP in 1999. Balkrishna Chauhan, who runs many educational institutions, became the BSP MP from Ghosi Lok Sabha seat for the first time in 1999. In 2004, he lost the election to Chandradev Prasad Rajbhar of SP.
In 2009, he was set to get a ticket from BSP, but at the last moment, Dara Singh Chauhan was given the ticket. In 2012, he was expelled from BSP due to anti-party activities. After that, he joined SP. In 2018, he quit SP and joined BSP again. On March 7, 2019, he joined the Congress along with his supporters in Lucknow. However, he once again quit Congress to join BSP.
Meanwhile, after the start of campaign by nephew Akash Anand in BSP supremo Mayawati’s native place, preparations for her first public meeting have also intensified.
A public meeting of Mayawati is scheduled for April 22 in Gautam Buddha Nagar. However, there is currently a tug-of-war going on regarding the venue for Mayawati’s public meeting.
Sources said that Gautam Buddha Nagar district organisation wants to hold a public meeting in the Jewar area, while the Bulandshahr unit wants Mayawati to kick off campaign from Secunderabad.
The sources said that the final call would be taken by Mayawati this week. She will be visiting the district after a long time. This time, this election is special for her.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, she entered the political arena by forming an alliance with SP. This time, she is alone in the fray and many of her old colleagues, including the sitting MPs, have also left her and joined other parties.
