Six of remaining 29 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh may go to BJP allies

The BJP had fielded candidates on 27 of these 29 seats in 2019 and won 20 of them. Opposition candidates won seven seats.

Six of the 29 Uttar Pradesh seats for which the BJP has not named candidates in the first list are likely to be allotted to its allies, including the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Apna Dal (Sone Lal) and the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), people aware of the development said. Two of these seats, Mirzapur and Roberstganj, are represented by the Apna Dal (S).

Two of the six seats, Mirzapur and Robertsganj, are represented by the Apna Dal (Sonelal). Union minister Anupriya Patel is the Mirzapur MP. (FILE PHOTO)

The BJP had fielded candidates on 27 of these 29 seats in 2019 and won 20 of them, including Prayagraj, Bareilly, Sultanpur, Kaiserganj, Bahraich, Deoria, Ballia, Machhalisahar, Kanpur, Firozabad, Hathras, Aligarh, Badaun, Meerut, Kaushambi, Baghpat, Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Pilibhit and Bhadohi.

Opposition candidates won seven seats, including Moradabad, Rae Bareli. Bijnor, Ghazipur, Mainpuri, Saharanpur and Ghazipur.

Mirzapur and Robertsganj seats will be again allotted to Apna Dal (S), while the RLD will field candidates for Baghpat and Bijnor . The SBSP is likely to be allotted the Ghosi and Ghazipur seats.

Suspense prevails on the Sultanpur seat, where eight- time MP and former Union minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi is seeking re-entry into the Lok Sabha for a record ninth term. Maneka won the 2019 Lok Sabha election, defeating her nearest rival Chandra Bhadra Singh of the BSP by over 10,000 votes.

The BJP has also not named its candidate for Kaiserganj represented by six-term MP Brij Bhusan Sharan Singh, who was in the news after allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by women wrestlers. To avoid embarrassment, the BJP may not give the ticket to Brij Bhushan and instead field his son Prateek Bhusan Singh, the sitting BJP MLA from Gonda seat.

The BJP has not announced its candidate for the Allahabad seat, where sitting party MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi is vying for a second term in the Lok Sabha.

Uncertainty prevails on the Bareilly Lok Sabha seat represented by former Union minister and eight-term MP Santosh Kumar Gangwar. There was a buzz about the BJP retiring some MPs who are 75 years of age. The same formula might be implemented in Kanpur to replace 75-year-old Satyadev Pachauri.

Former BJP state unit president Ramapati Ram Tripathi, who represents Deoria, is also among the missing names. There is also suspense on the fate of Rajendra Agarwal, the three- term MP who represents Meerut.

The name of General ( Retd) VK Singh, Union minister of state for road transport and civil aviation, is also missing from the list and so is the name of former IPS officer Satya Pal Singh, the Baghpat MP.

BJP MP from Aligarh Satish Kumar Gautam, who has been stoking controversy on various issues, has also not been named on the first list.

Uncertainty prevails on the fate of Rajvir Diler, the Hathras MP. According to sources, RLD candidates will be accommodated on two or three seats in west UP to seal the alliance.

The BJP has not announced candidates for Kaushambi, Rae Bareli and Phulpur either. SP rebel Puja Pal, who represents Chail assembly seat in Kaushambi, might get the ticket from Kaushambi, replacing sitting MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar.

The BJP is holding parleys with Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) leader Pallavi Patel to consolidate the OBC vote in Prayagraj region. If Pallavi joins hands with the BJP, she might be fielded from Phulpur, replacing sitting BJP MP Keshari Devi Patel.

After siding with the BJP in the Rajya Sabha poll, SP MLA Manoj Pandey is in the race for the ticket from Rae Bareli, a Congress bastion.

The fate of BJP MP from Badaun Sanghmitra Maurya hangs in the balance due to her father Swami Prasad Maurya’s tirade against the BJP.

The BJP candidates for the SP strongholds of Mainpuri and Firozabad have also not been named.