LUCKNOW: All eyes are on the BJP's choice of candidate for Rae Bareli after the exit of former AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and the buzz of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra replacing her mother in the Gandhi family stronghold. Various names are doing the rounds as the possible BJP candidate for the Rae Bareli seat which did not figure in the first list of 51 candidates released by the ruling party on Saturday for the Lok Sabha polls.
BJP probables are waiting with bated breath for the second list of candidates for the remaining 29 seats of Uttar Pradesh, which include seven -- Moradabad, Rae Bareli, Bijnor, Ghazipur, Mainpuri, Saharanpur and Ghazipur -- where the ruling party had lost to the SP-BSP grand alliance in 2019.
The BJP had fielded candidates in 27 of those remaining 29 seats in 2019 and had won 20, including Prayagraj, Bareilly, Sultanpur, Kaiserganj, Bahraich, Deoria, Ballia, Machhalisahar, Kanpur, Firozabad, Hathras, Aligarh, Badaun, Meerut, Kaushambi, Baghpat, Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Pilibhit and Bhadohi.
The political experts feel that the BJP would tread cautiously in Rae Bareli and is likely to reveal its cards only after the announcement of opposition candidates including those of the Congress and the BSP. However, the names of SP turncoat Manoj Pandey, who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha election in favour of the BJP candidate, and BJP MLC and Yogi minister Dinesh Pratap Singh are doing the rounds.
Moreover, an equal amount of suspense prevails over two other seats having sitting members of the Gandhi family -- Sultanpur and Pilibhit -- which are represented by Maneka Gandhi and her son Varun respectively in the Lok Sabha.
Maneka Gandhi, an eight-time MP and former Union minister, is seeking re-entry into the Lok Sabha for a record ninth term though her victory margin against the BSP candidate was very thin – 10,000 — in 2019.
Similarly, Pilibhit, represented by Varun Gandhi, who has not been let go of any chance to criticise the Modi and Yogi governments for the last couple of years, would be an interesting bet to watch out for. Varun had won the 2019 Lok Sabha election defeating his nearest rival Hemraj Verma of the SP by over three lakh votes. He had won from Pilibhit in 2009 and Sultanpur in 2014.
Another seat to watch out for would be Kaiserganj, the stronghold of controversial former WFI chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh. The BJP has not named the candidate for Kaiserganj, which has been represented by Singh for six terms. Singh is now facing legal proceedings after allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by women wrestlers.
Sources claim that the BJP may deny a ticket to Brij Bhushan this time and replace him with his son Prateek Bhushan Singh, the sitting BJP MLA from Gonda seat.
What is more, the NDA allies in UP including Apna Dal (S), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and NISHAD are also awaiting the allocation of seats of their quota.
Two of these seats, Mirzapur and Roberstganj, are represented by the Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal (S) and it will get the same two seats.
As per informed sources, NDA’s new ally, the Jayant Chaudhury-led RLD, is likely to get Baghpat and Bijnor while OP Rajbhar’s SBSP may get the Ghosi and Ghazipur seats.
The fate of the party’s sitting MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi vying for a second term from Prayagraj and eight-term MP Santosh Kumar Gangwar from Bareilly hangs in the balance as age does not favour them. However, by repeating Hema Malini, 75, from Mathura, the party has given hope to Joshi and Gangwar.
The name of General (Retd) VK Singh, Union minister of state for road transport and civil aviation, was also missing in the first list and so was the name of former IPS officer Satya Pal Singh, the Baghpat MP.
The fate of BJP MP from Badaun Sanghmitra Maurya hangs in the balance due to her father Swami Prasad Maurya’s tirade against the BJP. The BJP candidates for Mainpuri and Firozabad, the two seats of Yadav land and SP strongholds, are also expected to be announced in the next list.
