The BJP on Tuesday released its third list of 67 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, reposing its faith in a good number of turncoats as well committed workers. The party has so far declared names of 370 candidates.
The party has accommodated turncoats like Swami Prasad Maurya (Padrauna), RK Chaudhry (Mohanlalganj), RK Patel (Manikpur), Fateh Bahadur (Campiarganj), Rajesh Tripathi (Chillupar), Phagu Siungh Chauahn (Ghosi), and Dinanath Bhaskar (Aurai). All of them were Ministers in then Mayawati Government.
Phagu Singh Chauhan was earlier in the BJP and was even Minister in Kalyan Singh’s cabinet, but he left the BJP to join the BSP in 2012. Recently he returned to the BJP.
Former legislators who have found favour with the BJP leadership are: Surya Bhan Singh (Sultanpur), Bajrang Bahadur (Farenda), Gyanendra Singh (Paniyara), Suresh Tiwari (Barhaj), Arun Yadav (Phulpur Pawai), Sri Ram Sonkar (Mohamadabad), Ram and Iqbal Singh (Rasra).
The party has pitted Alka Rai, widow of slain BJP leader Krishnanand Rai, against Mukhtar Ansari, who is charged with killing Rai on November 29, 2005, while the latter was attending a family wedding in his native village in Ghazipur district. Rai was tipped-off a death threat by Special Task Force officers, who warned him of hired killers at the residence of Mukhtar Ansari, a lawmaker from Mohamadabad. Alka Rai had filed a case against Mukhtaar Ansari.
“Mukhtar Ansari and his family are known criminals of eastern UP. Mukhtar Ansari is also involved in my husband’s (Krishnanand Rai) murder and his seven close associates,” Alka Rai said.
Her candidature has made the fight interesting in eastern UP where the Samajwadi Party has forced Mukhtar’s Quaimi Ekta Dal to merge with the SP.
The BJP has also nominated its former State party president Surya Pratap Shahi from Pathardeva. Most of the candidates whose names were announced on Tuesday are from the seats which will go to polls in sixth and seventh phase.
The list contains 14 former legislators or MPs and around half a dozen office-bearers, including vice-president of the party Ram Naresh Rawat, general secretary Vinod rai, and Vidysagar Sonkar.
In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency of Varanasi, the BJP has dropped seven-time MlA Shyamdeo Rai Chaudhry from Varanasi (South) and gave ticket to Neelkanth Tiwari. Party also replaced Jyotsana Srivastava from Varanasi Cantt with Saurabh Srivastava but retained Ravindra Jaiswal from Varanasi North.
The BJP also cold-shouldered Beni Prasad Verma’s request to accommodate his son Rakesh Veram in the list as it nominated Barabanki district unit president Sharad Awasthi from Ramnagar where the SP has fielded Cabinet Minister Arvind Singh Gope.