All the candidates who filed nomination papers for the 13 seats of UP Legislative Council are set to be declared elected unopposed on June 13, the last date of withdrawal of nomination.
Only 13 candidates filed their papers – nine from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and four from Samajwadi Party and its allies. The nine BJP candidates include seven ministers.
As per the poll schedule announced by the Election Commission of India, the polling was scheduled on June 20.
Returning Officer and Special Secretary, UP assembly secretariat, Brij Bhushan Dube, said, “As only 13 candidates have filed nominations against as many vacancies, all of them would be declared elected unopposed.”
The BJP candidates include Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and ministers Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh, Daya Shankar Mishra ‘Dayalu’, JPS Rathore, Narendra Kashyap, Jaswant Saini and Danish Azad Ansari and two others
After this election, the BJP’s strength in the UP Legislative Council will rise to 72. Its dominance will further increase after Governor Anandiben Patel nominates six members.
The SP has 11 members so far but its strength will come down to nine after these polls. The MLCs whose terms are ending include six of the Samajwadi Party, three each of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party and one of the Congresses.