Lucknow: The Bahujan Samaj Party released a list of 47 candidates for the seventh phase of the ongoing Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on Sunday. The attempt to strike a caste balance in the seats is conspicuous in the list released today. Candidates for the constituencies of Azamgarh, Mau, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Bhadohi, Mirzapur, and Sonbhadra districts have been included in the list.
Taking a rather bold step, the Mayawati-led party has fielded its state president Bhim Rajbhar from the Mau Constituency against mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who is presently lodged in the Banda jail. Five-time MLA Ansari won the 2017 Assembly election from Mau on a BSP ticket. The BSP had won four seats in the Azamgarh district five years ago but this time, it has re-nominated only Azad Arimardan from the Lalganj reserved seat.
Sukhdev Rajbhar, who won from the Didarganj constituency in Azamgarh in 2017, died last year, while Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali, who won from Mubarakpur, quit the party subsequently. Vandana Singh, who won the 2017 polls on a BSP ticket from Sagadi, is in the fray from the BJP this time. Additionally, the BSP has fielded Shankar Yadav from Sagadi, Abdusalam from Mubarakpur, and Bhupendra Singh alias Munna from Didarganj.
For the Zahoorabad seat in Ghazipur district, the BSP has nominated former Uttar Pradesh minister (during the SP regime) Syeda Shadab Fatima against Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Omprakash Rajbhar. Fatima, who was in the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) of Shivpal Yadav, joined the BSP recently.
In Varanasi's Shivpur constituency, the BSP has nominated Ravi Maurya against state minister and BJP candidate Anil Rajbhar.
Polling is scheduled to be held in 54 Assembly constituencies in nine districts of Uttar Pradesh in the seventh phase of the ongoing election on March 7.
With agency inputs
