With the release of the final list, forty-six candidates are now in the fray in five assembly constituencies of Ayodhya district which will go to poll in the sixth-phase of 2022 UP polls on March 3.
February 12 was the last date for withdrawal of nominations in the district where around 18,45,305 voters are to exercise their franchise. There is likely to be a direct contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP). The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also fielded its candidates in all the five assembly constituencies of Ayodhya.
However, two most keenly observed contest in the temple town will be on Ayodhya Sadar and Gosainganj assembly seats. Like 2017 UP assembly polls, this time too a direct contest on Ayodhya Sadar assembly seat is between BJP candidate and sitting MLA Ved Prakash Gupta and former SP minister Tej Narayan Pandey alias “Pawan Pandey”.
In the last over three decades (since 1991), the BJP has lost Ayodhya Sadar seat only once in 2012 when Tej Narayan Pandey had defeated its candidate Lallu Singh. On Gosainganj assembly seat, two musclemen will be indirectly competing for the third time. Former SP MLA Abhay Singh and BJP’s Aarti Tiwari, the wife of former BJP MLA Indra Pratap Tiwari aka Khabbu Tiwari, are locked in a direct contest here.
Indra Pratap Tiwari had won from Gosainganj in 2017 assembly polls as a BJP candidate. However, his membership of legislative assembly was terminated last year after he was held guilty by the MP-MLA court of Ayodhya in a 29-year-old case related to use of a fake mark sheet to get admission in Saket Degree College, Ayodhya. Indra Pratap is managing his wife’s poll strategy from prison. In 2012 assembly polls, Abhay Singh of the Samajwadi Party had defeated Indra Pratap Tiwari of BJP from Gosainganj seat. In 2017 assembly polls, Tiwari had defeated Singh.
{{/usCountry}}Indra Pratap Tiwari had won from Gosainganj in 2017 assembly polls as a BJP candidate. However, his membership of legislative assembly was terminated last year after he was held guilty by the MP-MLA court of Ayodhya in a 29-year-old case related to use of a fake mark sheet to get admission in Saket Degree College, Ayodhya. Indra Pratap is managing his wife’s poll strategy from prison. In 2012 assembly polls, Abhay Singh of the Samajwadi Party had defeated Indra Pratap Tiwari of BJP from Gosainganj seat. In 2017 assembly polls, Tiwari had defeated Singh.
{{/usCountry}}On Rudauli assembly seat, BJP’s two-time sitting MLA Ram Chandra Yadav is aiming to score a hat-trick. Samajwadi Party’s rebel Abbas Ali alias Rashid Mian, who is now a BSP candidate, has made the contest interesting. Former minister Anand Sen Yadav is the Samajwadi Party candidate on this predominantly Yadav and Muslim dominated constituency.
On Bikapur assembly seat, entry of Samajwadi Party candidate Firoz Khan “Gabbar” has made the contest interesting. Earlier declared SP candidate Anup Singh is now contesting as an independent candidate from here. Dr Amit Singh, the son of sitting BJP MLA Shobha Singh, is the BJP candidate from the seat. Sunil Pathak, former Congress leader, is contesting on a BSP ticket.
In Milkipur (reserved) constituency, the BJP has again fielded its sitting MLA Baba Gorakhnath. Former minister Awadesh Kumar is the SP candidate from the seat.