The 142 candidates announced by the Samawjadi party for the 2017 assembly polls face the tough test of proving their political viability in next ten months. The candidates have been communicated in categorical terms by the party that they will have to prove their political worth in coming ahead of the 2017 assembly elections by establishing winning social combination in their respective constituencies. SP had conducted the candidate selection exercise for 169 assembly seats it had lost in 2012, but only 142 candidates have been announced.
Samajwadi Party grown wiser after facing rebellion from the MlAs during the recent panchyat and legislative council elections from the local bodies constituency, has sought to give clear message to the party `satraps’ that the party leadership is the final authority to decide the tickets. SP has conveyed that the senior leaders and ministers can give their suggestions for selecting candidates in their respective districts but they cannot dictate terms to the party.
In Jaunpur district SP has ignored the senior leader Parasnath Yadav, cabinet minister and former MP and minister of state Shailendra Yadav. Both wanted tickets for their family members but the party decided for candidates with clean image and command sizeable support in their respective areas. SP candidate lallan Yadav had lost the recent council election from Jaunpur. Both the ministers had allegedly sabotaged against the party official candidate.
Jwala Prasad Yadav, former MlA will be the SP candidate from Mugra Badshahpur and Javed Siddiqui from jaunpur Sadar seat. ``Both the candidates are not the choice of the two ministers and have been selected by the chief minister Akhilesh Yadav himself’’, said a former minister, whose name also figures in the list of 142 candidates.
“This list and the next list will not be final till the elections in February next year as the several factors including the declaration of candidates by opposition parties will affect the electoral equations till the elections’’, said a Samajwadi party leader adding `` at least 25 percent candidates may be changed in next 10-11 months’’. The party sources said there is nothing new in this kind of exercise as the tickets for the 2012 assembly polls and 2014 lOk Sabha election were announced over a year before the polls and candidates were changed in large number of constituencies and three to four times candidates were changed in Sultanpur and some other districts ahead of 2012 assembly elections.
Moreover, the leader said, “Samajwadi Party is still the ruling party, the aspiration of the people in the 142 constituencies will be high from the candidates, they will have to deliver to the people even before they are formally elected as the legislator and also concentrate on their respective constituencies for the polls’’.
SP party sources said the besides conducting its exercise at organisational level for selecting the candidates party has hired the services Democratic Party advisor Gerald J Austin, who has been leading the Democrats’ campaign in USA presidential polls since 1968. He had successfully propelling Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. He had met the chief minister akhilesh Yadav in November last year. SP has so far made no official announcement for hiring the US consultant.
SP sources however confirmed that chief minister had a long meeting with Austin in lucknow and later at Delhi. CM had briefed Austin the electoral political of UP where backwardness, illiteracy, poverty, casteism and religion are key factors governing mood of the voters.