LUCKNOW: In a strategic move ahead of the upcoming Legislative Council elections in Uttar Pradesh's teacher and graduate constituencies, the Samajwadi Party on Saturday fielded two BJP rebels as its candidates after inducting them into the party, replacing the party candidates announced earlier.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav named Sanjayan Tripathi, a BJP dissident, as the party’s candidate from the Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers constituency and gave the Agra Graduates constituency ticket to Akash Agarwal, the sitting MLC who won as an independent but was a contender for the BJP ticket this time.
The SP withdrew the ticket of Ram Prakash Gupta, who had earlier been announced as its candidate from the Agra division, to accommodate Akash Agarwal.
The party leadership decided to field Akash Agarwal because of his strong support among teachers and at the local level. Agarwal had sought ticket from the ruling BJP.
Along with Agra, the party also changed its candidate in the Gorakhpur-Faizabad division, replacing Kamlesh Yadav with Dr Sanjayan Tripathi as its new candidate.
The move is being seen as an attempt by the opposition party to capitalise on discontent among aspirants overlooked by the BJP and sharpen the contest in the MLC polls.
Elections to five graduates' and six teachers' constituencies of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council will be held on October 23, with counting scheduled for October 27.
Speaking to media persons at the party office in Lucknow on Saturday, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “We have decided with the consent and co-operation of the two colleagues who were the former SP candidates that Dr Akash Agarwal and Dr Sanjayan Tripathi will be the candidates for the upcoming MLC election.”
Expressing his gratitude to Gupta and Yadav, the SP chief said he was confident that they would ensure the victory of Agarwal and Tripathi. He added that under the BJP government, both the education and examination systems had collapsed.
“The maximum number of paper leaks have occurred in the last 10 years, and the education system has deteriorated the most under the BJP government,” he said.
The SP chief also said BJP members were engaged in rampant discrimination during voter registration, and officials are also supporting them. “School peons have been designated as teachers, and even those who are not teachers have been registered as voters,” he said.
The reason behind the sudden replacement of candidates in both key constituencies is seen as the Samajwadi Party’s new strategy. Through the reshuffle just before the election, the Samajwadi Party has sought to recalibrate regional and social equations.
Party workers hope that the new candidates will make the contest in these constituencies highly competitive.
Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa had earlier announced that the notification for the biennial elections was issued on September 29. The last date for filing nominations is October 6. Scrutiny will take place on October 7 and candidates can withdraw their nominations till October 9.
Polling will be held from 8 am to 4 pm on October 23. The election process will be completed before October 31, according to the schedule.
The elections have been announced as the terms of the members elected from these constituencies are due to end on December 6. The outgoing MLCs include six BJP members, three SP members and two Independent members.
A graduates’ constituency is one in which only graduates from any recognised Indian university, or those with an equivalent qualification, are qualified to be enrolled in the voter list. Similarly, in a teachers’ constituency, only a full-time teacher at a secondary school or higher for at least three years out of the previous six years is eligible to vote.
