Ex-minister Prajapati's wife among 39 candidates in SP's 2nd list

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party on Tuesday evening released its second list of 39 candidates, this time keeping the focus on Dalits and women who jointly bagged over 55% of the tickets declared. More than the caste equations, what is sure to catch eyeballs was the candidature of jailed former minister Gayatri

Prajapati

’s wife from Amethi and party fielding a candidate against strongman Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya in Kunda.

The party has also accommodated sitting BJP MLA from Nanpara, Madhuri Verma and named former minister Pawan Pandey as a candidate from Ayodhya. Another sitting BSP MLA Hakim Chand Bind is the party candidate from Hardiya in Prayagraj.

The lone Muslim candidate on the list is sitting SP MLA Yasar Shah from Bahraich City. He is a sitting MLA from Matera assembly seat of Bahraich district.

If party sources are to be believed, the candidature of Maharaji Prajapati, the wife of Mulayam loyalist and jailed former minister Gayatri Prajapati was recommended by some influential quarters of the Yadav clan.

The party has nominated Gulshan Yadav as a candidate from Kunda from where

Raja Bhaiya

is an independent sitting MLA since 1991. His proximity with SP patriarch Mulayam

Singh Yadav

is well known but the sitting MLA had failed to cut the ice with Akhilesh after the two parted ways on a sour note after SP entered into an alliance with BSP and

Raja Bhiaya

voted against the alliance candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections.

The SP chief has, however, accommodated former SP minister late Pandit Singh’s nephew

Suraj Singh

from Gonda city and retained former MP and SP veteran

Reoti Raman

Singh’s son sitting MLA Ujjwal Raman Singh in Karchana assembly constituency of Prayagraj. Party general secretary Indrajit Saroj is SP candidate from Manjhanpur (Kaushambi).

The list includes the name of Santosh Pandey from Lambhua in Sultanpur district. Santosh had led the construction of Lord Parshuram temple along Purvnchal expressway in his home district which Akhilesh had recently visited to further his Brahmin outreach. The list also has the name of

Ram Singh Patel

, former SP MLA, from Patti in Pratapgarh. Ram Singh happens to be the son of former MP Bal Kumar who is the brother of slain dreaded dacoit Daduwa.