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LS polls: Maya fields a Muslim candidate in Kannauj, spices up contest
He is likely to dent the Muslim vote bank of SP, which is working on the PDA (Pichda (Backward), Dalit, and Alpashankhak (Minority)) formula in the Lok Sabha election.
LUCKNOW: A day after fielding four Muslim candidates in Muslim-dominated Lok Sabha seats in the Rohilkhand region, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday announced Aqil Ahmed Patta, another Muslim, as party’s candidate from Kannauj seat, from which Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav is likely to contest the upcoming general election.
The BJP has already announced to field sitting MP Subrat Pathak from the Kannauj seat. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Pathak defeated the SP candidate, Dimple Yadav. The SP has announced Dimple’s candidacy from the Mainpuri seat, which is considered a pocket borough of the Yadav family. Although the SP has not yet announced a candidate for the Kannauj seat, there is speculation within the party that Akhilesh Yadav might contest to regain the seat, which is considered a stronghold of the SP.
With Aqil Ahmed, who moved to BSP from SP a few months back, in the fray, Kannauj is likely to witness a three-cornered fight in the Lok Sabha election between BJP, SP, and BSP. A native of Kanpur (Dehat), Ahmed has a strong hold over the Muslim community in the region. He is likely to dent the Muslim vote bank of SP, which is working on the PDA (Pichda (Backward), Dalit, and Alpashankhak (Minority)) formula in the Lok Sabha election.
In another surprising move, BSP denied a ticket to its sitting MP Malook Nagar from Bijnor and fielded Chaudhary Vijendra Singh, who belongs to the Jat community and joined BSP a few days back after resigning from the post of the national general secretary of Lok Dal. Bijnor is considered the traditional stronghold of the BSP. In the 1989 Lok Sabha election, Mayawati won the seat while in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Malook Nagar, a Gujjar, secured the seat defeating BJP candidate Raja Bhartendra Singh.
Earlier, Nagar had announced that the BSP would consider joining the INDIA bloc if party chief Mayawati is projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha election and if Congress apologises for poaching the BSP MLAs in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after the 2018 assembly elections.
On Monday, BSP announced Dr. Mujahid Hussain as its candidate for the Amroha Lok Sabha seat, Irfan Saifi from Moradabad seat, Anish Ahmed Khan alias Phool Babu from Pilibhit, and Majid Ali from Saharanpur Lok Sabha seat. The BSP has denied a ticket to sitting party MP Haji Fazlur Rehman from the Saharanpur Lok Sabha seat, who had defeated BJP candidate Raghav Lakhanpal in the 2019 LS election.
A BSP leader said, the party was working on Dalit-Muslim-OBC formula to win maximum seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. On Wednesday, the BSP is likely to announce Dara Singh Prajapati, an OBC leader, as party candidate from Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat.
