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Scramble for party tickets in UP: Many want to script ‘son rise’, others pitch for relatives
The ruling BJP, whose leaders have been pitching for their relatives, has decided against fielding relatives of the same family (barring those already elected representatives), a stance that is said to have angered its OBC minister Swami Prasad Maurya who quit the party
LUCKNOW From veiled threats to outright rebellion, from a woman politician eyeing her ‘son’s rise’ signaling that she won’t contest elections anymore to a couple staking claim from the same assembly seat, politicians in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh are doing everything it takes to force their parties to allot tickets to their relatives.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose leaders have been pitching for their relatives, has now decided against fielding relatives of the same family (barring those already elected representatives), a stance that is said to have angered its OBC minister Swami Prasad Maurya who quit the party, triggering a spate of resignations.
BJP leaders have been openly stating that Maurya, who won the 2017 UP polls on BJP ticket from Padrauna and whose daughter Sanghmitra is a BJP MP from Badaun, was angry over denial of ticket to his son. Maurya has denied the charge, though.
The ruling party is said to be less accommodating in terms of individual family requests, but the opposition is a bit more liberal to the prospect.
BJP MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi is eyeing a ticket for her son Mayank, who has been politically active since 2009. “I am ready to quit if that is what it takes to get ticket for my son,” she said in Delhi, where she is currently camping.
The list within the BJP of those leaders seeking a ‘son-rise’ is growing – from union minister Kaushal Kishore, MP from Mohanlalganj to another BJP MP Jagdambika Pal.
But, the most interesting family pitch has come from a couple with husband, BJP vice-president Daya Shankar Singh making a bid from the same seat from where his wife Swati, a minister too, is a lawmaker.
“I am a BJP man and there is no confusion with us. If I will get a ticket, Swati will sit out and if Swati gets it, I will have to sit out,” said Daya Shankar.
But it isn’t the BJP alone. There is a long list of opposition leaders from the Samajwadi Party to the Congress pushing to accommodate family members.
While the SP has declared former minister Azam Khan, currently in jail, to be the party’s candidate again from his traditional Rampur seat, his son Abdullah, just out on bail, would be the party candidate from Swar Assembly segment of Rampur from where he had won before being disqualified for using fake age record.
There is suspense on the Unchchar seat in Rae Bareli, which is currently represented by SP’s Manoj Pandey but reportedly eyed by Swami Prasad Maurya for his son Utkrisht. Pandey who won the seat in 2012 and 2017 is a strong claimant. “It would be interesting to see how far the SP accommodates Maurya’s demand,” a BJP leader said.
Harendra Malik, a Rajya Sabha MP and Pankaj Malik, father-son duo who resigned from the Congress to join the Samajwadi Party, are also said to be making a pitch for assembly seat for Pankaj and a Lok Sabha ticket later for Harendra.
Ambedkarnagar MP and BSP leader Ritesh Pandey’s father Rakesh Pandey recently left BSP and joined SP. However eyeing tickets, Rakesh’s brother Pawan Pandey and his son Prateek have since left BJP and joined BSP.
Former MP Ramakant Yadav, who recently left the BJP and joined SP, is reportedly eyeing tickets for his two sons.
BJP lawmaker from Bilhaur, Bhagwati Sagar, who was among the party rebels to join the SP is now seeking tickets for his son from his seat while he reportedly is interested in contesting from Mauranipur Assembly segment in Bundelkhand.
There are reports that the SP might field Krishna Patel, leader of Apna Dal (Sonelal) from Pratapgarh, but suspense prevails over whether Krishna Patel’s daughter Pallavi Patel too would get to contest. “The maximum push is for BJP and SP, the two most sought-after parties this election,” said Irshad Ilmi, a political observer, who said while the BJP has cleared that it won’t give tickets to more than one family member, there is confusion on the stand of other parties.
“A big reason for the SP being the most favoured destination could also be that the party leadership hasn’t cleared the air on more than one family member seeking tickets. May be winnability is,” said Ilmi.
