The Samajwadi Party’s list of candidates for the upcoming bypolls is tilted towards familial political connections.
Bypolls are set to be held to 10 assembly seats -- Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sisamau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad).
Tej Pratap Yadav is the party candidate from Karhal, the seat vacated by Akhilesh Yadav after winning the Lok Sabha election from Kannauj. The candidate is the nephew of Akhilesh and the grandson of late SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s elder brother.
He was the MP from Mainpuri in 2014 and describes himself as a 'sports enthusiast' on his social media profile. He is married to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Rajlakshmi. This selection has been made keeping the seat’s connection with the Yadav family. It must be noted that Tej Pratap was initially set to fight the LS election, but his candidature was opposed within the party.
Sumbul Rana the party candidate from Meerpur is the daughter-in-law of former MP Kadir Rana and the daughter of Rajya Sabha MP Munqad Ali whose political affiliations lay with the BSP.
The Sisamau ticket has gone to Naseem Solanki, the wife of Irfan Solanki. The candidate’s husband is currently undergoing a jail term for seven years on a charge of arson. Naseem’s selection has been made keeping in mind that the sympathy for her husband should work in her favour.
In Katehri, the party candidate is Shobhawati Verma who is the wife of Lalji Verma. With the husband just getting elected an MP, the SP is banking on his popularity to rub off on the wife.
The Phulpur ticket has been given to Mustafa Siddiqui who is a three-time MLA. Siddiqui has oscillated between the BSP and the SP. The party has put its faith in Siddiqui as he lost the last Vidhan Sabha polls by just 2,500 votes.
Jyoti Bind, the party’s choice from Majhawan is the daughter of Ramesh Bind, a former BJP MP and three-time BSP MLA. Bind is a doctor and hopes to cash in on her father’s popularity to make her path to victory smooth.
In addition, the party has announced the name of Ajit Prasad- the son of Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad from Milkipur.
Nine of these seats fell vacant after its MLAs were elected as MPs in the Lok Sabha polls, except Sisamau seat which fell vacant due to the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki.
Except Milkipur, the Election Commission has announced polls on the rest nine seats. The polling seats will be held on November 13.
