BJP candidate files nomination for Kairana

The BJP candidate Mriganka Singh today filed her nomination for the Lok Sabha bypoll in Kairana, where she is set to face a joint opposition.

The seat fell vacant after the death of her father Hukum Singh.

Today was the last date for filing nominations for the May 28 election which the opposition hopes will be a repeat of the recent bypolls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur, where the ruling BJP was delivered a shock defeat.

Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate Tabassum Begum filed her papers yesterday. She is backed by Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.

The Congress too had indicated that it will support a common candidate in Kairana.

A bye-election for the Noorpur assembly seat, earlier held by the BJP, will also take place on the same day.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls , BJP's Hukum Singh had bagged 5,65,909 votes in Kairana against his nearest rival, Nahid Hasan of the SP, who secured 3,29,081 votes.

Both the bypolls are crucial for the ruling BJP as well as opposition parties, as they may set the tone for the 2019 parliamentary elections.