If contesting MLAs win, UP can face a 'mini-assembly' election

Lucknow, May 24 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh could be heading for a mini-assembly election after the Lok Sabha polls are over if the 15 legislators contesting the parliamentary elections emerge as winners.

The 15 legislators, including three ministers of the Yogi Adityanath government, are trying their luck in the elections while 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 have to be held within six months.

The BJP, SP, Congress, RLD and Nishad Party have fielded their MLAs in the election for Lok Sabha seats of the state.

The declared candidates include 13 state assembly members and two members of the Legislative Council.

The BJP has nominated Neeraj Shekhar as its candidate for the Ballia Lok Sabha seat. Neeraj is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha and his tenure as a Rajya Sabha member is till November 2026.

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 the Mainpuri seat in the 2022 assembly elections, now faces the challenge of making the lotus bloom in the Mainpuri parliamentary constituency.

Anoop Pradhan Valmiki, minister of state for revenue in the Yogi government, was the candidate from Hathras reserved seat.

Anoop is an MLA from Khair reserved seat of Aligarh district.

Similarly, Ghaziabad MLA Atul Garg will contest, on the BJP ticket, for the 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 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 in its MLA Chandan Chauhan, elected from the Meerapur assembly seat of Muzaffarnagar district. He is contesting from Bijnor parliamentary constituency, one of the two Lok Sabha seats under its quota.

Similarly, the Nishad Party’s MLA from the Majhwan assembly seat of Mirzapur district, Vinod Kumar Bind, is the BJP candidate from the Bhadohi Lok Sabha constituency.

Not only the ruling BJP, but the SP has also fielded five of its MLAs candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.

Leading from the front is the SP President and leader of the Opposition in the state, Akhilesh Yadav, who is contesting from the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat.

Presently, Akhilesh is a member of the assembly representing the Karhal assembly segment of the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat.

To challenge BJP candidate and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the prestigious Lucknow Lok Sabha seat, SP has fielded MLA Ravidas Mehrotra, who represents the Lucknow Central Assembly seat.

SP has nominated its MLA Awadhesh Prasad from Milkipur reserved seat to challenge the sitting BJP MP Lallu Singh on Faizabad Lok Sabha seat in Ayodhya.

The party has also given a ticket to Katehari MLA Lalji Verma for Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha seat.

The SP has fielded Ziaur Rahman Barq as its candidate from Sambhal. Ziaur Rahman was elected MLA from the Kundarki assembly constituency of Moradabad in 2022 on an SP ticket.

Among the two Congress MLAs, Virendra Chaudhary, elected from Pharenda assembly seat of Maharajganj district, is also contesting from Maharajganj Lok Sabha to challenge the BJP that has fielded Union minister 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 has fielded Jitin Prasad, PWD Minister in the Yogi government from the Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat.

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 till September 26, 2027. If Prasada is elected MP from Pilibhit, he will have to resign from the membership of the council.

The BSP has also given the ticket to its Legislative Council member Bhimrao Ambedkar from Hardoi seat reserved for Scheduled Caste. However, 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 ended earlier this month.