The ruling Samajwadi Party is likely to announce nine candidates to be nominated in the State legislative Council this month. There are several speculations over the names of the SP candidates whereas the party leaders are doing everything to impress the leadership to get the opportunity. Party sources here confirmed on Saturday that the names of SRS Yadav, Banwari Singh Yadav, Javed Abdi and several others are in circulation to get the nomination for the legislative council for next six years.
However, the name of Bollywood star Jaya Prada is also in the race but party leaders say that she was not in the list of the probables. Reports had said earlier that erstwhile SP leader Amar Singh had talked to Mulayam Singh Yadav for the nomination of Jaya Prada. However, Raj Bhawan sources here said that the governor is yet to receive the list of the candidates. The list of the candidates is expected to reach Raj Bhawan within a week’s time, sources said.
Meanwhile, after the appointment of the nine new members in the legislative council, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will loose its majority in the upper house after retirement of the eight members of the BSP. The party’s strength in the 100-member House will come down to 46 from the existing 54 on May 25. All these eight members were nominated to the legislative Council by the Mayawati government in 2009. They would now pave way for their counterparts from Samajwadi Party, which would raise its strength from 26 to 34.
While BJP has seven MlCs, Congress has two. The teachers’ group has five, independent four, and RlD one. One seat is vacant. The eight BSP MlCs who would make way for SP candidates are: Kamlakant Gautam, Gopal Narain Mishra, Naushad Ali, Al Tomar, Medhraj Singh, Ramchandra Singh Pradhan, Vinay Shakya, and Shivbodh Ram. But BSP leader in the legislative council Nasimuddin Siddique said here that the party would still be the largest party in the Council. Though BSP will no longer have majority, SP will have to wait till January 2016 to get majority in the House when biennial elections would be held for over three dozen seats.