UP Assembly polls: Turncoats and dynasts in BJP's second list of candidates

After RSS comments on quotas, BJP reaches out to non-Yadav OBC castes

On a day the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress announced an alliance for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its second list of 155 candidates.

BJP had released its first list of 149 candidates last week only after it became apparent that the Election Commission will give the ‘bicycle’ symbol to what was then the Akhilesh Yadav faction in SP.

Like the first list, the second one has its share of turncoats and dynasts. But, it has also given several tickets to non-Yadav OBC candidates belong to the Shakya, Maurya and Kushwaha caste, which constitute nearly eight per cent of the electorate. The party leadership is bitter about anti-reservation comments by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) publicity chief Manmohan Vaidya, and veteran MG Vaidya.

Among the dynasts who got tickets is Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj. He will be a candidate from Noida, not Sahibabad. Senior party leader Lalji Tandon’s son Ashutosh is a candidate from Lucknow East constituency and party’s Lok Sabha member Hukum Singh’s daughter Mriganka is a candidate from Kairana, which falls in her father’s constituency. Lok Sabha member Brij Bhushan Singh’s son Pratik is a candidate from Gonda.

After Kalyan Singh’s grandson got a party ticket in the first list, the second list names his daughter-in-law. Singh is currently the Rajasthan governor and his son, Rajbir, is a BJP Lok Sabha member. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked leaders not to seek tickets for their children.

Among turncoats, former Congress UP unit chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who joined BJP in October, is being fielded from the Lucknow cantonment seat. Former Bahujan Samaj Party MP Brijesh Pathak is a candidate from the Lucknow central seat. Former BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya’s son Utkarsh will contest from Unchahar.

Congress Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Sinh’s first wife Garima is BJP’s candidate from Amethi. The Congress, if it were to get Amethi as part of its alliance, is likely to field Sanjay Sinh’s second wife Amita from that seat.

There was dissatisfaction among leaders who recently joined BJP. They failed to secure tickets for their supporters.