It’s Rajbhar vs Rajbhar: BJP releases list of 9 candidates for UP polls
In another list of candidates for nine seats for the UP assembly polls, the BJP on Saturday pitted former BSP MLA Kalicharan Rajbhar against Om Prakash Rajbhar, national president of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), for the Zahoorabad seat in Ghazipur district. The SBSP is an alliance partner of the Samajwadi Party (SP).
In 2017, Om Prakash, then in alliance with the BJP, was elected MLA from the seat by defeating BSP’s Kalicharan. In 2012, SP’s Syeda Shadab Fatima held the seat while Kalicharan won in 2007. By fielding another Rajbhar in a seat with 70,000 votes from the community, the BJP has thrown a challenge at Om Prakash.
The BJP also fielded senior party worker Ashok Singh from Mau where jailed politician Mukhtar Ansari was elected MLA in 2017 as a BSP candidate by defeating an SBSP nominee. Singh is a rival of Ansari, who is an accused in the murder case of the BJP worker’s brother. While the BSP has not fielded Ansari, the SBSP is likely to pick him.
For the Muhammadabad Gohna seat in Mau district, the BJP replaced its earlier selection with Poonam Saroj, a teacher. “There was strong anti-incumbency against (sitting MLA Shriram) Sonkar. The party still gave him the ticket. This led to protests by local party leaders. The party leadership was communicated about this, and his ticket was cancelled,” said a BJP leader.
At the Chakia (SC-reserved) seat in Chandauli district, the party has benched its sitting MLA Sharada Prasad and instead fielded Kailash Kharvar. The party also denied ticket to sitting Mughalsarai MLA Sadhana Singh and instead picked Ramesh Jaiswal.
For Ghorawal and Obra (ST-reserved) seats, the party picked sitting MLAs. It also announced candidates for Mubarakpur and Machhlishahr — constituencies it lost in 2017.
