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MLC polls in Uttar Pradesh: All 10 NDA, 3 SP candidates set to be elected unopposed
The BJP put up seven candidates and allotted the remaining three seats of its quota to its three allies – Apna Dal (Sonelal), Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal.
Ten National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and three Samajwadi Party (SP) candidates filed their nominations for 13 vacancies in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council till the close of nominations on Monday.
As the number of seats equals the number of nominations, all 13 candidates will be declared elected unopposed on Thursday (March 14) except for the unlikely scenario of someone withdrawing their name.
Had there been a contest, the polling would have taken place on March 21. The BJP put up seven candidates and allotted the remaining three seats of its quota to its three allies – Apna Dal (Sonelal), Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).
The Samajwadi Party fielded three candidates in keeping with its present strength in the U.P. assembly.
“By the close of nomination time, 13 candidates filed nominations for as many vacancies in the Legislative Council. If none withdraws their name till March 14, the last date for withdrawal of names, all 13 would be declared elected unopposed,” said Brij Bhushan Dubey, the returning officer for the Legislative Council polls.
The BJP members who filed their nominations included former ministers Mahendra Singh and Ashok Kataria, state BJP vice-presidents Vijay Bahadur Pathak, Mohit Beniwal, former Jhansi mayor Ram Tirath Singhal, Dharmendra Singh and Santosh Singh.
The BJP allies who submitted their nomination papers included Ashish Patel of Apna Dal (S), Yogesh Chaudhary of the RLD and Vichhelal Rajbhar of the SBSP.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, state BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar were present when NDA candidates filed their nominations.
Adityanath later posted on X, “Many congratulations to all the NDA candidates who filed nomination for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. Best wishes to all of you for your victory.”
After the NDA, Samajwadi Party candidates filed their nominations. They included senior party leader Balram Yadav, former lawmaker Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali and Kiranpal Kashyap.
Shah Alam, who recently joined the SP after quitting the Bahujan Samaj Party, said, “PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak),is not ‘jumlebaazi’ or empty rhetoric. It will bring good results.”
