Ex-BSP MLA Ambedkar files nomination for RS polls

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election Bhimrao Ambedkar filed his nomination papers today.
The returning officer for the election, Poonam Saxena, said, "BSP candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha election today."
The BSP had yesterday announced the former MLA's name as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha election.
BSP president Mayawati, who convened a meeting of the party MLAs here in connection with the preparation for the upcoming biennial election, announced that Ambedkar would be the party nominee for the Rajya Sabha, a party release issued here had said.
It had added that despite requests from the partymen, Mayawati decided against going to the Upper House for the fourth time and instead, announced to field a dedicated worker from the Dalit community.

Ambedkar had been an MLA from the Lakhana constituency in Etawah.
Referring to a report in a section of the "casteist media, guided by the BJP" that the BSP will send her brother Anand Kumar to the Rajya Sabha, Mayawati had said Ambedkar's candidature would prove that there was no place for dynasty and family politics in her party.
The BSP chief had also said that to foil the wrong and prejudiced politics of the BJP, the BSP and the Samajwadi Party (SP) had adopted the new strategy of supporting each other's candidates in the upcoming elections, which would "definitely" defeat the saffron party, the release added.