UP polls: Rajnath son, Rita Bahuguna Joshi in second BJP list of candidates

The Bharatiya Janata Party has released its second list of candidates on 155 seats

On a day that also saw the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) formally announced their alliance for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its second list of candidates for 155 seats. The list features the names of Pankaj Singh, the son of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, and Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who recently crossed over from the Congress to BJP. 

Pankaj Singh will contest from Noida, while Bahuguna Joshi  will contest from Lucknow Cantt. Also on the list are Siddharth Nath Singh, who will contest from Allahabad West, and Garima Singh from Amethi.

Last week, BJP had announced its first list of 149 candidates, mainly for the first and second phases for the northern state. 

The first list did not feature any candidate from the Muslim community. However, the polling in the first two phases on February 11 and February 15 will cover areas with a sizeable Muslim population.

The seven-phase election to the state's 403-member Assembly will end on March 8 and counting will take place on March 11.