SP names three more Lok Sabha candidates in UP

Lucknow, March 26 (IANS) The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday named three more candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, including Devendra Yadav from the Etah constituency.

A senior SP leader here said that the other two are Hemraj Verma from Pilibhit and Anand Sen from Faizabad.

With these, the SP has announced 22 candidates in the state.

It has fielded party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav from Mainpuri, party chief Akhilesh Yadav from Azamgarh, his cousin Akshay Yadav from Firozabad, and senior party leader Azam Khan from Rampur Lok Sabha seat.

Contesting the elections in alliance with Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party and Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal, the SP is contesting on 37 seats. The BSP is fighting on 38 and the RLD on three seats, while two seats have been left for the Congress.

The BJP-led NDA had won 73 out of 80 seats in the state in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The SP had won five and the Congress won two, while the BSP scored a nil.

The seven phased polls are scheduled from April 11 to May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.