Uttar Pradesh is set for a mini assembly election after the Lok Sabha polls are over as around 15 legislators are contesting the parliamentary elections.
As many as 15 legislators, including three ministers of the Yogi Adityanath government, are trying their luck in the elections for the country’s largest panchayat. A Rajya Sabha member of BJP is also contesting the Lok Sabha polls. To fill up the assembly seats, vacated by the winning candidates, elections will be held within six months.
This time, the BJP, SP, Congress, RLD and Nishad Party have fielded their MLAs in the election for Lok Sabha seats of the state. Major parties are yet to declare some of their candidates. The declared candidates include 13 Legislative Assembly members and two are members of the Legislative Council.
The BJP has nominated Neeraj Shekhar as its candidate from Ballia Lok Sabha seat. Neeraj is currently a member of Rajya Sabha and his tenure as Rajya Sabha member is until November 25, 2026.
Since assembly members are directly elected by the public, the Election Commission will conduct by-elections within a period of six months as per the rules to fill the vacant assembly seat of whoever succeeds in becoming an MP among the 12 assembly members contesting the elections.
The BJP has fielded Tourism and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh in the Yogi government to contest the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat against MP Dimple Yadav, daughter-in-law of SP founder late Mulayam Singh Yadav and wife of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Jaiveer, who was elected MLA from Mainpuri seat in the 2022 assembly elections, now faces the challenge of hoisting the BJP flag in the Mainpuri parliamentary constituency.
The BJP has made Anoop Pradhan Valmiki, Minister of State for Revenue in the Yogi government, the candidate from Hathras reserved seat. Anoop is MLA from Khair reserved seat of Aligarh district. Similarly, Ghaziabad MLA Dr Atul Garg has been made the BJP candidate for Ghaziabad Lok Sabha seat.
In Nagina reserved Lok Sabha seat, currently held by the BSP, the BJP has placed its bets on its MLA Om Kumar from Nahtaur reserved assembly constituency of Bijnor district. Praveen Patel, MLA from Phulpur assembly constituency of Sangam city Prayagraj, is contesting as a BJP candidate in the election battle of Phulpur parliamentary constituency.
One MLA each from RLD and Nishad Party, who are part of BJP’s NDA, are also in the fray for LS polls. RLD has placed its stake on its MLA Chandan Chauhan, elected from Meerapur assembly seat of Muzaffarnagar district. He will fight from Bijnor parliamentary constituency, one of the two Lok Sabha seats under his quota. Similarly, Nishad Party’s MLA from Majhwan assembly seat of Mirzapur district, Dr Vinod Kumar Bind, will be BJP candidate from Bhadohi Lok Sabha constituency.
Not only the ruling BJP, but the SP is also fielding five of its MLAs candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Leading from the front is SP President and leader of the Opposition in the state, Akhilesh Yadav, who is contesting from Kannauj Lok Sabha seat. Presently Akhilesh is the member of the assembly representing Karhal assembly segment of Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat.
To challenge BJP candidate and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on the prestigious Lucknow Lok Sabha seat, SP has fielded MLA Ravidas Mehrotra, who represents Lucknow Central Assembly seat.
SP has nominated his MLA Awadhesh Prasad from Milkipur reserved seat to compete with sitting BJP MP Lallu Singh on Faizabad Lok Sabha seat in Ayodhya. The party has also given ticket to Katehari MLA Lalji Verma for Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha seat.
The SP had once again given ticket to Shafiqur Rahman Burke from the Sambhal Lok Sabha seat held by him, but after the sudden death of Burke, the party has made his grandson Ziaur Rahman Burke its candidate from Sambhal. Ziaur Rahman was elected MLA from Kundarki assembly constituency of Moradabad in 2022 on SP ticket.
Among the two current Congress MLAs, Virendra Chaudhary, elected from Farenda assembly seat of Maharajganj district, is also now trying his luck to become an MP. Congress has made Virendra its candidate from Maharajganj Lok Sabha seat out of 17 seats won under alliance with the SP. The BJP has once again fielded Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary from Maharajganj Lok Sabha seat.
The two members of the Legislative Council (Upper House) contesting the elections are BJP’s Jitin Prasad and BSP’s Bhimrao Ambedkar. The BJP had denied the ticket to Pilibhit MP Firoz Varun Gandhi and had fielded Jitin Prasad, Public Works Minister in the current Yogi government.
Prasada was nominated as a member of the Legislative Council on September 27, 2021 for six years. In such a situation, his tenure as a member of the Legislative Council is until September 26, 2027. Now if Prasada is elected MP from Pilibhit, he will have to resign from the membership of the council. Since he is an MLC from the nominated quota, the Yogi government can nominate someone else directly through the Governor on the seat vacant due to his resignation.
The BSP has also given ticket to its Legislative Council member Bhimrao Ambedkar from Hardoi seat reserved for Scheduled Caste. Even if Bhimrao Ambedkar wins the MP election, there will be no need to hold separate elections because his six-year tenure in the council is ending on May 5. In view of the tenure of 13 council members including Bhimrao ending on May 5, the Election Commission has already completed the fresh election process and the new candidates have been elected.
