Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his two deputies - Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma and two ministers of state — Swantradeo Singh and Mohsin Raza, filed their nomination for the by-poll to the five seats of legislative Council in lucknow on Tuesday.
Amid slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, the BJP candidates filed their papers in the presence of Speaker Hridya Narain Dikshit, newly appointed state BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey, ministers and several BJP legislators.
All five candidates including the only Muslim minister in Yogi cabinet, Mohsin Raza took oath before Returning Officer and Principal Secretary (Assembly) Pradeep Kumar Dubey in Hindi and ‘in the name of Ishwar’ while filing his papers.
Tuesday (September 5) was the last date for filing nominations in four seats while the last date for the remaining one seat is September 8.
Yogi and his three colleagues would be declared elected on September 8, while the result of the fifth seat would be declared on September 11. All BJP candidates are set to be declared elected unopposed.
While Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath filed his nominations on the seat vacated by Samajwadi Party MlC Yashwant Singh, Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya filed papers on the seat vacated by SP member Bukkal Nawab. The term of both seats will end on July 8, 2022.
Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma filed his papers for the seat left by Ashok Bajpai and state minister Swantra Deo Singh from the seat left by SP member Dr Sarojni Agarwal. The term of both seats will end on January 30, 2021.
Minister of state Mohsin Raza, the only muslim candidate filed his nominations from the seat left by BSP member Thakur Jaiveer Singh. The term of this seat will end on May 5 next year.
The BJP candidates including Yogi, his two deputies and the ministers escorted by other BJP leaders reached the office of the Returning Officer in the Assembly premises on foot from the state BJP office after reaching there at 10.30 am.
The leaders crossed the Vidhan Sabha Marg to enter the Assembly from gate number one after beingcongratulated by thgeir party leaders with garlands.
Returning Officer Pradeep Kumar Dubey said that all five candidates filed their nominations in two sets and each was proposed by 10 BJP MlAs. He said that scrutiny of nominations of the four seats would be held on Wednesday while for the fifth, it would be held on September 9.
As all seats would have separate elections, hence, the BJP and its allies, who have two-thirds majority in the Assembly, would win all the seats without any contest. No Opposition candidates have filed their nominations.
Yogi Adityanath is presently lok Sabha member from Gorakhpur and Keshav Prasad Maurya is a lok Sabha MP from Phulpur seat in Allahabad. Both are yet to resign from their respective lok Sabha seats.