LUCKNOW: The final phase of elections on 54 seats is crucial for BSP, which won six of 19 seats it contested from this region in 2017. The party came second on 16, raising hopes of mopping up at least 20 seats this time, which
BSP claims is a ‘non-wave’ election.
Of six MLAs, only one is still with BSP and has been repeated. Lalganj
MLA Azad Arimardan will be trying his luck again from the same seat. Of the rest, Bandana Singh from Sagri, Shah Alam from Mubarakpur and
Sushma Patel
from Mungra Badshahpur have moved to Samajwadi Party and its Didarganj MLA Sukhdev Rajbhar died in October last year. Sitting MLA from Mau, Mukhtar Ansari, who is in prison, was denied a ticket by BSP chief Mayawati due to criminal antecedents.
“We have replaced Ansari with Bhim Rajbhar, who is BSP’s state president. From Duddhi, BSP has fielded sitting MLA from Apna Dal, Hariram Chero. In
Zahoorabad
, there is a close fight between SP’s alliance partner, SBSP’s Om Prakash Rajbhar and BSP candidate, Sayyeda Shadab Fatima, who was a two-time MLA and minister in SP government,” said a BSP leader.
Mukesh Singh, who was with
BJP and joined BSP two months back has been fielded from Jangipur. “His sister-in-law is still with BJP, while his uncle is a BJP MLC,” said a senior party member. Anand Kumar Dubey, another member from Apna Dal, is BSP’s candidate from Mariyahu. Confident that BSP was in fighting position in 40% seats in this phase, a party member said, party fielded candidates who fit in caste matrix. “There is no wave. All of us have a fighting chance. In seats where BSP stood second, we can defeat rivals, particularly a candidate from BJP due to anti-incumbency,” he said.