leading its rival parties in announcing candidates for the 2017 Assembly polls, the ruling Samajwadi Party is set to announce the next list of candidates next week. The party has announced candidates for 153 seats it had lost in 2017 Assembly polls.
To prevent cross voting during polls to Rajya Sabha and legislative Council, the SP had delayed the announcement of candidates for the seats it had won. To beat potential anti-incumbency among voters, the party may deny tickets to about 100 sitting MlAs, said a well placed party source.
"There is little anti-incumbency against CM Akhilesh Yadav. It is more against MlAs. Denying them is ticket is our best bet to beat anti-incumbency," said a SP leader explaining the strategy.
However, a section of the ruling party feels that denying tickets to sitting MlAs might not help because of factional feud among the top party brass. Given the lack of cohesion among them, MlAs could save their scalp by aligning with one of the power centres like Shivpal Yadav, Amar Singh, Ram Gopal Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Azam Khan and lastly Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The SP chief has been critical of party MlAs distancing themselves from workers and cautioned them against the trait. In this context, the local units' feedback on sitting MlAs may prove to be crucial in deciding the candidature of sitting members by the party mandarins.
Meanwhile, the SP has asked chiefs of each Assembly segment to step up preparations and examine the strength of claimants for tickets and report to the state office by July end.
The 403 Assembly segments have been divided into 18 zones and for each, an MlCs has deputed and asked to tour the segment in cognito and meet masses for asessing the prospects of at least four candidates in the zone. The MlCs will file their report to SP Parliamentary Board.
SP sources said that the party brass is concerned over the series of setbacks and adverse press after the Mathura land grab, migration of Hindus from Kairana and aborted merger of Quami Ekta Dal with the SP. In this context, a negative report about any sitting MlA or minister will be taken seriously by the party and they might be shown the door.