News Brief
Not Akhilesh Yadav, Tej Pratap To Contest From Kannauj; SP Fields Sanatan Pandey Again From Ballia Despite 2019 Loss
Tej Pratap Singh Yadav
Samajwadi Party (SP) declared its two candidates in Uttar Pradesh on Monday (22 April) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Contrary to the prevalent buzz of SP national president Akhilesh Yadav contesting from Kannauj, the party has fielded Tej Pratap Singh Yadav, whose name was also among one of the contenders.
Tej Pratap is the grandson of late SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's brother Ranveer Singh. His name was earlier rumoured as Rampur candidate.
Kannauj is considered to be a SP bastion as the party held this seat for over two decades from 1998 to 2019. However, the BJP was able to break into it in 2019 by defeating Akhilesh's wife Dimple Yadav.
Dimple Yadav is now contesting from Mainpuri, a seat she won in the 2022 by-polls after her father-in-law Mulayam Singh Yadav's demise.
Notably, Tej Pratap was elected as a Mainpuri MP in 2014 by-polls after Mulayam Singh Yadav vacated this seat.
Sanatan Pandey is fielded from Ballia where the BJP candidate is Rajya Sabha MP and son of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, Neeraj Shekhar.
Pandey had earlier too contested from here in 2019 on the SP ticket but lost to BJP's Virendra Singh Mast. However, Mast's ticket was cut this time to field Shekhar.
Notably, Shekhar himself had contested from here on the SP ticket thrice. While he won in 2008 by-polls and 2009 elections, he lost to BJP's Bharat Singh in 2014.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
