UP Assembly Polls: Defensive BJP avoids risk, repeats most of sitting legislators in elections

Lucknow: Preferring not to take any risk, specially after mass exodus of its leaders to other parties, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has repeated most of its sitting legislators in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. The party had boasted to defy tickets to more than one third of its sitting legislators based on their performance. However, it could muster courage to refuse tickets to barely five per cent of sitting legislators.

On Friday, BJP released another list of 91 candidates for UP polls. These including mainly for the seats in the central and eastern UP. So far, the party has announced name of candidates on 294 assembly seats out of total 403. The party has yet not decided name of its candidates in the prestigious districts of Lucknow and Varanasi.

The new list of candidates is a clear indication that BJP is not in a mood to take any risk and instead it has relied on old faces. Only half a dozen sitting legislators have been denied ticket by BJP. All the ministers in the Yogi cabinet have been given ticket from their respective seats. Those legislators who have crossed the age of 75 years are being replaced by their kins.

The party has replaced co-operative minister Mukut Behri Verma with his son Gaurav Verma from Kaisarganj, Behraich district. BJP legislator Indra Pratap alias Khabbu, who had lost membership from state assembly recently after being convicted in a case, has been replaced by wife Aarti Tiwari.

Among the fresh faces fielded by BJP is Shalabh Mani Tripathi, the media advisor of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who has been fielded from Deoria city assembly seat. The party has fielded sitting legislator from Ayodhya, Ved Prakash Gupta again. Ministers in Yogi Cabinet Nand Gopal Gupta, Siddharthnath Singh, Satish Diwedi, Surya Pratap Shahi, Upendra Tiwari, Girish Yadav, Rajendra Pratap alias Moti Singh, Ramapati Shashtri, Jai Pratap Singh and Jai Prakash Nishad have been given tickets again by BJP. The party has changed the seat of minister Sri Ram Chauhan from Ghanghata to Khajni in Basti district.

Former member in the advisory team of Priyanka Gandhi and ex MP Rakesh Sachan has been given BJP ticket from Bhognipur in Kanpur district. He had left congress a day before to join BJP. The sitting legislators who failed to get tickets are Baijnath Rawat from Haidergarh, Ajay Pratap from Colonelganj and SP Mani from Deoria.

According to senior BJP leader of UP, the party might announce the name of candidates on the remaining seats next week. BJP has decided to give 25 seats to its allies Nishad Party and Apna Dal. While Apna Dal might get 10 seats, the Nishad Party has been assured of 15 seats.