Hectic lobbying for Sadar constituency

gorakhpur: most of the local leaders are presently camping in lucknow and delhi to ensure tickets for contesting the forthcoming assembly elections. money is no consideration for them and their only motive is to get the party ticket by hook or by crook. local offices of the samajwadi party (sp) and bahujan samaj party (bsp) are agog with activities.bsp leader ashok kumar srivastva has already launched a door-to-door campaign at gorakhpur sadar assembly constituency which is represented by state minister for rural development shiv pratap shukla. sp leader pramod kumar tekriwal, who is confident of getting the ticket, has also started contacting people here. however, tekriwal is facing a tough opposition not from his opponents but from his own party workers. his candidature was announced by banwari lal kanchal at a press conference held here last month. tekriwal, who was a staunch bjp supporter till the other day, has not even submitted his application to the party high command for contesting the elections from sadar assembly constituency. twelve other leaders, who are also vying for the sp ticket from this constituency, have already made it clear that they will oppose the tekriwal's candidature. their plea is that the party ticket should be given to a candidate who has duly submitted his application to the high command. meanwhile, liquor baron badri prasad jaiswal, father of state minister jitendra prasad jaiswal, has declared that he will contest the elections from paniyara assembly constituency against state minister for industrial development fateh bahadur singh. though he is trying to get the ticket but he is even ready to contest the poll as an independent candidate. jitendra prasad jaiswal alias pappu bhaiya is sure of getting the party ticket from pipraich assembly constituency. but he too is in double minds. he has yet to decide whether he should contest the poll as a bjp candidate or as an independent. presently he represents the constituency as an independent candidate. two more state ministers hari shankar tiwari, who represented chillupar assembly constituency and makandey chand, who represented dhuriyapar constituency in the present assembly, would contest the elections from their respected constituencies this time. but their party affiliations are yet not clear.