Uttar Pradesh assembly bypolls: BJP fields candidates for eight seats, ally RLD gets one seat

BJP announces candidates for UP bypolls, leaving one seat for ally RLD; Samajwadi Party also announces candidates.

The ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday (October 24, 2024) announced its candidates for eight of the nine assembly seats where bypolls will be held on November 13, leaving one seat for its ally the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

The BJP has fielded Ramvir Singh Thakur from the Kundarki seat, Sanjeev Sharma from Ghaziabad, Surendra Diler from Khair (SC), Anujesh Yadav from Karhal, Deepak Patel from Phulpur, Dharmraj Nishad from Katehari, Suchismita Maurya from Majhawan, and Suresh Awasthi from Sisamau, the party said in a statement.

Ally RLD fielded Mithlesh Pal from Meerapur, an assembly seat it had won in the 2022 polls. Chandan Chauhan, the sitting MLA, vacated the seat after being elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

Among the BJP nominees, Mr. Awasthi had unsuccessfully contested the 2017 assembly polls from Sisamau as a BJP candidate. The seat fell vacant due to the disqualification of Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki following his conviction in a criminal case.

In all the remaining eight seats, the bypolls were necessitated as the sitting MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha.

The BJP and RLD announced the names of their candidates just a day before the last date for the filing of nomination papers for the bypolls.

The opposition Samajwadi Party has also announced its candidates for all nine seats with the support of its INDIA bloc allies. The Congress has said it would not field any candidates.