Even as Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh has preferred loyalists over “outsiders” in naming the candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan’s wife, Tazeen Fatima, was a surprise inclusion in the list of six names declared on Friday. The names cleared at the meeting of central parliamentary board in New Delhi were announced by national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav.
With a strength of 230 MLAs in the State Assembly, the Samajwadi Party is assured of winning six of the 10 seats in the elections scheduled on November 20.
Besides, Dr. Fatima, the other candidates named by Mr. Singh are Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav, who has been re-nominated, former Lok Sabha MPs - Ravi Prakash Verma (Kheri), Chandrapal Yadav (Jhansi) and Neeraj Shekhar (Ballia)- and Javed Ali Khan.
It is evident from the Samajwadi Party list that preference has clearly been given to party loyalists with the omnipresent caste factor too playing a role in naming the candidates. Three Yadavs, two Muslims, one Thakur and one Kurmi constitute the ruling party’s list. Among the candidates, Dr. Fatima and Mr. Javed Ali Khan, are green horns and have no experience in politics, though Mr. Khan, who is from Sambhal, did try for a ticket from Moradabad in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. His candidature was opposed by a prominent Muslim leader of the Samajwadi Party.
Notwithstanding the hype over his return to the Samajwadi Party, there is no place for Amar Singh, who was being mentioned as a possible candidate. He had also met Mr. Singh and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in New Delhi on Wednesday. However, informed sources said that Mr. Amar Singh’s candidature was vehemently opposed by senior leaders.
With the Samajwadi Party making the first move in declaring the names for the November 20 biennial elections, Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati may not be far behind in naming her candidates. The names are likely to be declared next week with BSP sources claiming that Ms. Mayawati would prefer naming Dalit candidates. The BSP has 80 MLAs and is hopeful of winning two seats. Among the 10 RS MPs whose term expires on November 25, six belong to the BSP, but with its strength reduced in the Assembly, it can win only two seats in the forthcoming polls.
In terms of numbers, the Bharatiya Janata Party with 40 MLAs will win one seat. For the 10th seat, a Congress candidate supported by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (both the parties have a combined strength of 36 MLAs – Congress, 28 and RLD, 8 ) is making rounds what with RLD chief Ajit Singh and former Congress ministers, Salman Khurshid, Kapil Sibbal and Beni Prasad Verma in the race.
