LUCKNOW: After dropping hints over fielding Varun Gandhi, the sitting MP from Pilibhit, by saying that it would ponder over the matter if the BJP denied him the ticket, the Samajwadi Party brought the curtain down on the speculation by announcing a candidate from the seat on Wednesday.
Releasing its sixth list of another six candidates, the SP announced the name of Bhagwat Saran Gangwar from Pilibhit amid buzz that Varun Gandhi may jump ship to side with Akhilesh Yadav.
Gangwar, a five-time MLA from Nawabganj in Bareilly, was runner-up in 2019 when he had secured 4 lakh votes but lost the seat to Santosh Gangwar, the 8-time MP of the BJP from Bareilly and a former Union minister.
Giving precedence to family, the SP has fielded Ziaur Rehman Barq from Sambhal, the sitting SP MLA from Kundarki in Sambhal, and grandson of late SP MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq. Shafiqur Rehman Barq was already announced as the SP candidate from Sambhal in the party’s first list but he passed away last month after a prolonged illness.
His politician son Mamlurul Rehman Barq had also expressed the desire to take his father’s legacy forward in Sambhal but the party preferred his son.
Besides, the SP also announced the candidate for the Mirzapur seat, fielding Rajendra S Bind thus putting the first break on the ambition of ally Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) headed by Sone Lal Patel’s wife Krishna Patel and his elder daughter Dr Pallavi Patel.
Earlier, in the day, Pallavi Patel had taken to social media demanding three seats as a member of the INDIA alliance from the quota of 63 seats at the SP’s disposal. Patel had demanded Mirzapur, Phoolpur and Kaushambi.
However, by announcing the SP candidate from Mirzapur, Akhilesh Yadav sent across a clear message to Patel, a sitting MLA on the SP symbol from Kaushambi. Of late, Patel had been humming some dissenting tunes as she had aggressively opposed Akhilesh’s choice of candidates for the recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections.
Others in the list include Manoj Chaudhary from Baghpat, Rahul Awana from Gautam Budh Nagar and Rajeev Rai from Ghosi. While Rahul Awana has replaced Dr Mahendra Nagar in Gautam Budh Nagar, Rajeev Rai was seen as one of the architects of the impressive assembly bypoll victory of the SP in Ghosi over its turncoat and BJP candidate Dara Singh Chauhan.
