Lucknow: The Congress on Friday declared its candidates for five Legislative Council seats in Uttar Pradesh, asserting that it will contest the upcoming teachers’ and graduates’ constituency elections independently, without any alliance with the Samajwadi Party.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai made the announcement at the party headquarters in Lucknow and said the Congress will field candidates on all 11 MLC seats across the state. He said the party aims to raise the voice of youth and teachers in the Legislative Council and has begun a large-scale voter registration drive. “Congress will contest all 11 seats on its own. To strengthen our base, we are registering five lakh graduate voters and two lakh teacher voters across Uttar Pradesh. Forms have already been distributed to all district and city Congress committees,” Rai said.
Rai named Vikrant Vashistha for the Meerut-Saharanpur Graduates’ seat, Raghuraj Singh Pal for Agra Graduates’, Dr. Devmani Tiwari for Lucknow Graduates’, and Sanjay Priyadarshi for the Varanasi Teachers’ Constituency. The fifth name is likely to be announced soon.
A day earlier, the Samajwadi Party had released its list of five candidates. Dismissing speculation of coordination between the two parties, Rai clarified that their alliance with the SP is limited to the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. “This is not a symbol-based election, so there is no question of an alliance,” he said.
Rai also hit out at BSP chief Mayawati over her recent rally in Lucknow, alleging that it was organised with BJP support. “After 18 years, Mayawati suddenly remembered Kanshi Ram. BJP vehicles were used to bring BSP workers to her rally. It was an attempt to mislead deprived communities and to influence the Bihar elections,” he alleged.
The Congress leader also criticised Mayawati and other political parties for remaining silent on the killing of Hariom Valmiki in Rae Bareli. “Neither Mayawati nor other parties are raising their voice. Congress stands firmly with the victim’s family. Our delegation was going to provide financial assistance today, but the police stopped them,” Rai said.
Earlier, Ajay Rai and other party leaders paid floral tributes to former Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav on his death anniversary at the Congress headquarters.
