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UP urban local body election: Key phase one candidates eyeing mayoral posts
A total of 17 posts will be contested for mayoral positions this time.
Uttar Pradesh urban local body elections are set to take place in less than a month in two phases on May 4 and 11. As the deadline to file nominations for phase one of the election ended Monday, more than 51,000 people registered to contest for various posts – the result of which will be announced on May 13.
The state election commission announced that elections will take place for a total of 14,684 posts out of which 17 posts will be contested for mayoral positions. This is an increase of one post from the last election in 2017.
Key mayoral players in phase one election:
Lalita Jatav has been named SP candidate from Agra. It’s one of the five seats reserved for women but from a Scheduled Caste category. Agra, also termed Dalit capital, has a strong dominance of the Jatav community among SC voters. Meanwhile, the BJP has fielded Hemlata Diwaker, a former Dalit lawmaker from the seat.
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Two-time former MLA from Kol assembly seat of Aligarh, Jamirullah Khan is Samajwadi Party’s pick for the district. Khan would have to prove his mettle in the tough battle since in 2017, the BSP candidate won the election in 2017.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Umesh Chandra Kesarwani in Prayagraj where the incumbent mayor Abhilasha Nandi from BSP was eyeing a third win on a BJP symbol but was dropped. Kesarwani is the party’s Prayagraj unit chief. Posters of Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya as a mayoral candidate on the seat have also emerged fueling speculations.
Sushma Kharkwal, BJP’s candidate for Lucknow, is the wife of a retired army personnel and an old party hand. Meanwhile, the BSP has trusted party leader Shahin Bano with the capital city.
Dr Manglesh Srivastava, a well-known doctor and social worker, is a BJP candidate for Gorakhpur seat, which is the political stronghold of chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
(With bureau inputs)
