Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. (File/Photo)
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma and transport minister Swatantra Dev Singh are set to get elected to the state Legislative Council ‘unopposed’ as no other nomination was filed against them in the bypoll. Adityanath, Maurya, Sharma and Singh filed the nomination for the four seats as BJP nominees on Tuesday, which was the last day of filling nominations. Another state minister Mohsin Raza too filed the nomination on Tuesday for the fifth seat that fell vacant following resignation of BSP’s Thakur Jaiveer Singh. Thursday is the last date for filing nomination for this fifth seat. The Opposition is unlikely to field any candidate on the seat.
All these five ministers, including the CM, are not members of either house of the state Assembly at present and they have to take membership of either of the House by September 19 to continue as ministers.
Adityanath and Maurya will get the largest term till July, 2022. Adityanath has filed nomination for the seat vacated by SP MLC Yashwant whereas Maurya has filed nomination on the seat of Bukkal Nawab, who is also an SP MLC. Yashwant and Nawab’s terms would have expired in July, 2022.
Dinesh Sharma has filed the nomination for the seat vacated by another SP MLC Ashok Bajpai while Swatantra Dev has filed nomination for the seat vacated by SP MLC Sarojini Agrawal. Terms of both Bajpai and Agrawal would have expired on January 30, 2021. Mohsin Raza has filed nomination for the seat vacated by Thakur Jaiveer Singh, who was earlier with the BSP, and his term in the council would have expired on May 5, 2018.
Yashwant, Nawab, Agrawal, Bajpai and Jaiveer Singh had resigned from the Legislative Council and had joined the BJP last month.
After submission of nomination papers of all the five BJP nominees, party state president Mahendra Nath Pandey said that he is sure that all them will win the elections.
BJP leaders are hopeful that the Opposition will not field any candidate against Mohsin Raza also. The Opposition has not fielded candidates against the BJP nominees because none of the parties has the required number of votes of MLAs.
