Lucknow: Stage is set for a triangular contest in both the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-elections in Uttar Pradesh slated on March 11.
With BJP, Samajwadi Party and Congress announcing their candidates, now the contest seems to involve between the three political parties candidates.
BSP ,which at first hinted of contesting the bypolls, have now gone backfoot and do not want to contest.Tomorrow is the last date for filing of the nominations where the candidates of SP and Congress filed their nominations on Monday.
Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) on Monday announced candidates for the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-elections. While, Upendra Shukla will be the candidate from Gorakhpur seat left by chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Kaushlendra Singh Patel will be the candidate from Phulpur, the seat vacated by Deputy UP CM Keshav Prasad Maurya.
State BJP general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said that the people from the organisation has given priority in the tickets to dedicated leaders as both the candidates are presently holding organisational posts.
Upendra Shukla , is the regional president of the party of Gorakhpur region while Kaushlendra, a former mayor of Varanasi, is secretary in the state BJP executive. With opposition divided, Samajwadi Party on Sunday announced a joint candidate for Gorakhpur parliament bypolls in support of two regional parties of Eastern Uttar Pradesh -Peace Party and Nishad Party.
The party also announced the name of Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel as the official party candidate from Phulpur Lok Sabha seat.The announcement of candidate for Phulpur seat was made through a written statement on Sunday evenings. Earlier the announcement of Gorakhpur candidate was made by SP president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday in presences of president of both the Nishad Party and Peace Party. In Gorakhpur seat the candidate would be Engineer Praveen Kumar Nishad, son of Nishad Party chief Dr Sanjay Kumar Nishad. But the candidate, a first timer youth, would contest on SP symbol of bicycle.
Yadav, in an indirect attack on the Congress, said that it is on the onus of other opposition parties to go for a joint opposition candidate to take head-on with the BJP. Congress has already announced Dr Surhita Chatterjee Karim as their candidate for the Gorakhpur LS bypolls on Friday night.
Congress has announced Manish Mishra as their candidate from Phulpur seat.SP president said that it was a good approach by Nishad Party and Peace Party to join hands with the SP. " It is not just a political contest in Gorakhpur and Phulpur but it is a social fight against the people who are dividing the society and unleashing a reign of terror," he said with claiming that BJP would lick the dust in the bypolls. Nishad Party president Dr. Sanjay Kumar Nishad said ," we have fought a long battle for the poor and downtrodden but to strengthen the opposition unity we have come under the banner of SP and under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav." Peace Party president Dr Ayub too said that an opposition unity is required to fight against the communal forces who are dividing the society on the name of caste and religion. UNI