Filing of nominations begins for Allahabad, Phulpur LS seats

Sitting BSP MP from Phulpur Kapil Muni Karwaria and BJP candidates from Phulpur and Allahabad, Keshav Prasad Maurya and Shyama Charan Gupta respectively, were among those who submitted their papers today on the first day of filing of nominations for the penultimate phase of Lok Sabha polls.
Both Phulpur and Allahabad Lok Sabha seats fall under the sprawling Allahabad district which comprises the highest number of 12 Assembly segments in Uttar Pradesh.
Voting in both the Lok Sabha seats will be held on May 7.
A multi-cornered contest is expected in both the Lok Sabha seats.
The Samajwadi Party has fielded sitting MP Kunwar Reoti Raman Singh from Allahabad and former MP Dharamraj Singh Patel from Phulpur.

The Congress has former test cricketer Mohd Kaif as its nominee from Phulpur while in Allahabad it has fielded former state minister Nand Gopal Gupta (Nandi), who was expelled from the BSP less than two months ago.

The BSP has reposed its trust in Karwaria who became the first candidate from the party to win Phulpur and fielded former Zila Parishad chairperson Keshri Devi Patel from Allahabad.
Among BJP candidates, Maurya is the sitting MLA from Sirathu in the neighbouring district of Kaushambi, while Gupta has been with the Samajwadi Party for a long time and even been an MP from Banda on that party's ticket.

The Aam Aadmi Party too has thrown its hat in the ring. Former India Against Corruption volunteer Shimla Sree is fighting from Phulpur while former IT professional Adarsh Shastri, who is also the grandson of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, is contesting from Allahabad.