LUCKNOW: By putting out the fourth list of five more Lok Sabha candidates, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, on Friday, dashed the electoral hopes of Aparna Yadav, wife of Mulayam’s younger son Prateek, as she was expecting a ticket from Sambhal in western UP after father-in-law Mulayam Singh Yadav recommended her candidature.
In Sambhal , Akhilesh has reposed faith in Shafiqur Rahman Barq who had lost the seat to BJP with a small margin of 5,000 votes in 2014. As per the demographic data of Sambhal, there are around 50 per cent Muslims. Moreover, Dalit and OBC voters are also in a respectable number.
Keeping the caste and community calculations in mind, Akhilesh preferred Barq over Aparna Yadav despite Mulayam’s recommendation.
Mulayam had been recommending Aparna’s name from this seat because it has been a family stronghold. Mulayam himself has represented Sambhal twice while his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav had also won it once.
Since neighbouring Badaun is also an SP pocket borough, Sambhal could have been a safer bet for Aprna.
Other prominent candidate declared on Friday included Tabassum Hassan from Kairana. She is the sitting MP who had won last year's bypoll on RLD ticket as the joint opposition candidate against BJP Mriganka Singh, daughter of late Hukum Singh.
The other candidates include former minister Vinod Kumar Singh aka Pandit Singh from Gonda, Ram Sagar Rawat from Barabanki (reserved) seat and Surendra Kumar alias Munni from Ghaziabad.
The party had released the first list of six candidates including the party veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav from Mainpuri on March 8. The same day, the second list of three women candidates including Dimple Yadav from Kannauj was out.
Till now, Samajwadi Party has declared candidates for 16 of 37 seats of SP quota.
The Samajwadi Party is contesting the Lok Sabha polls in alliance with Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party and the RLD.
The Samajwadi Party is contesting on 37 seats, RLD on three and the BSP on 38 seats.
Amethi and Rae Bareli, the traditional seats of Congress President Rahul Gandhi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, have been left for the Congress.