SP to field third Rajya Sabha candidate for Oct 16 Rajya Sabha polls on Tuesday
The Samajwadi Party on Monday said it will field a third candidate for the October 16 Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday, the last day for filing nominations for the biennial polls.
The BJP and the SP are gearing up for the Rajya Sabha elections for 10 vacant seats in Uttar Pradesh, with the saffron party having direct numbers for seven seats.
The SP has already fielded party veteran Ram Gopal Yadav and Reliance Industries executive Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani, who have filed their nominations in Lucknow.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had said the party would field a third candidate once the required numbers are secured. "Our third candidate will now file nominations on Tuesday (October 6). We are confident of handing a crushing defeat to the BJP," party spokesman Fakhrul Hasan Chand told PTI Videos without revealing the candidate's name.
The SP's announcement follows similar hints given by party MP Virendra Singh and MLA Ravidas Mehrotra, which means it will be clear on Tuesday if the October 16 polls will witness a contest.
A senior SP leader told PTI that former state minister Arvind Singh Gope or party leader Rajpal Kashyap could be the probable surprise candidate.
A final decision will be made by Akhilesh Yadav, the SP leader said.
Chand's statement assumes significance, as it came barely hours after the BJP on Monday replaced all its eight sitting Rajya Sabha MPs from Uttar Pradesh with old party hands, including two women, for the October 16 Rajya Sabha polls. They will file their nominations on Tuesday.
However, SP MLA from Lucknow Central Ravidas Mehrotra on Monday told PTI Videos, "The nomination for the Samajwadi Party's third Rajya Sabha candidate is scheduled for tomorrow, and the MLAs were called today to sign the nomination papers."
Mehrotra added that "The 10 MLAs designated as proposers arrived, and all 10 have signed the nomination form. Tomorrow at 11 am, he will file his nomination."
He also claimed that the name of the SP's third candidate will "surprise everyone".
Upon being asked about the allegations of SP lacking sufficient votes and possible cross-voting, Mehrotra said that many MLAs from the PDA community in the NDA -- feeling insulted -- will cast their votes in support of the SP.
The BJP picks include three OBCs -- state minister Dharampal Singh, Shruti Gangwar and Prakash Pal. Two Dalits -- Vidya Sagar Sonkar and Priyanka Singh Rawat. Two Brahmins -- Radhakant Ojha and Gopi Krishna Pandey; and one Thakur -- Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan.
According to sources, the SP has purchased three sets of nomination papers, while the BJP has purchased nine sets.
"All our candidates will win easily. In fact, we could even ensure a win for the ninth candidate," BJP's OBC wing chief Prakash Pal told reporters after being named as a party candidate.
The Rajya Sabha polls are based on proportional representation and single transferable vote, which ensures that surplus votes of the winners are transferred to the remaining candidates as per their second preferences.
So, if a contest happens with more than 10 candidates in the fray, it will boil down to technicalities and astute planning, party leaders on both sides admitted.
According to the schedule, October 6 is the last date for filing nominations, followed by scrutiny of papers on October 7. Names can be withdrawn till October 9, while polling will be conducted on October 16.
The Rajya Sabha polls were necessitated as the tenure of nine Rajya Sabha MPs from Uttar Pradesh - Hardeep Puri and B L Verma, BJP leaders Arun Singh, Geeta Shakya, Neeraj Shekhar, Brijlal and Seema Dwivedi, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav and BSP leader Ramji Gautam - ends on November 25.
No re-nomination of the Union ministers -- Hardeep Puri and B L Verma -- is being seen as a sign of a likely reshuffle in the Union Cabinet, some BJP leaders said.
The 10th seat that fell vacant was held by former deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, who quit after being appointed Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lieutenant Governor.
Following the recent death of Fatehabad BJP MLA Chhotelal Verma, the party-led alliance now has 288 MLAs in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
This includes 255 BJP MLAs, 13 MLAs from Apna Dal (Sonelal), nine from the Rashtriya Lok Dal, six from the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, and five from the NISHAD Party.
The SP-Congress combine has 103 MLAs, including 101 from the SP.
The Jansatta Dal Loktantrik has two MLAs, while there are three unattached legislators, including Cabinet minister Manoj Kumar Pandey.
Leaders of both the BJP and SP admit to the possibility of cross-voting in case of a contest.
