Lucknow: Setting aside all speculations, the Samajwadi Party decided on Thursday to field Dimple Yadav, a former MP and wife of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, for the Mainpuri parliamentary seat by election.
The Mainpuri seat has been declared vacant after the death of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had won from here in the 2019 Parliament elections.
Ever since his death, it was expected that SP would field a family member in this seat. The names of a former MP from Mainpuri and grandson of Mulayam, Tej Pratap Yadav, were also discussed for candidacy.
By-elections announced in Mainpuri, Rampur and Khatauli assemblies
The nomination period for the by-election began on Thursday and will end on November 17. Along with the Mainpuri parliamentary seat, by-elections would also take place in Rampur and Khatauli assembly constituencies.
Both of these seats have been declared vacant after their sitting legislators were disqualified for being convicted. Polling for all three seats would be held on December 5, with the counting of votes to be held on December 8.
It may be mentioned that the Samajwadi Party has been winning the Mainpuri seat since the 1996 general elections. While Mulayam Singh Yadav was elected to this seat five times, his close friend Balram Singh Yadav was elected twice.
After facing defeat in the recently held by-elections at Azamgarh and Rampur parliamentary seats, SP Chief Akhilesh has been taking extra measures to ensure victory in the Mainpuri this time.
SP replaces party district president to manage the caste equations
To manage the caste equations in Mainpuri, the SP Chief has replaced party district president Devendra Yadav and appointed Manoj Shakya. The number of Shakya voters in Mainpuri is high.
The ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) is mulling fielding a candidate from the Shakya community in the Mainpuri elections.
However, now that the SP has announced its nominee, all eyes are on the BJP in the Mainpuri by-election.BJP leaders have stated unequivocally that the party intends to challenge SP in Mainpuri and is looking for a suitable candidate.
BJP targets SP on this selection
The spokesperson of the UP BJP, Rakesh Tripathi, said that the candidacy of Dimple shows that workers have no respect in the Samajwadi Party and their job is to only shout slogans and manage crowds for rallies. He claimed that the SP first elected a family member, Dharmendra Yadav, in Azamgarh, and now Dimple Yadav.
Tripathi said that like Azamgarh, the BJP would surprise people by winning Mainpuri. According to BJP leaders in UP, the party might field Raghu Raj Shakya, a close aide of Mulayam, from Mainpuri as its candidate.
Rumors are also circulating about Mulayam's younger daughter-in-law, Aprana Bisht, running for this seat. Aprana had joined the BJP just before the 2022 assembly elections.
(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
