BSP Changes Candidate In Jaunpur, SP In Shravasti Before The Last Day Of Nomination Filing; Here's What To Make Of It

Candidates were changed for the two seats of Uttar Pradesh going to polls in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections on 25 May, before the last day of nomination filing i.e. today (6 May).

While the Samajwadi Party (SP) changed its Shravasti candidate, replacing Ram Shiromani Verma with former Balrampur Sadar MLA Dhirendra Singh, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) changed its Jaunpur candidate.

The BSP had earlier given the ticket to strongman and former BSP MP Dhananjay Singh's third wife Shrikala Singh. However, it has now fielded sitting BSP MP Shyam Singh Yadav.

Shravasti

Ram Shiromani Verma won the 2019 elections on a BSP ticket. However, he was expelled from the Mayawati-led party in March this year for anti-party activities and then got a ticket from SP.

However, he has been now replaced by Dhirendra Singh. Political commentator Amit Yadav believes that the move will benefit the BJP as the removal of Verma, a Kurmi, will no longer cut the BJP's votes.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Saket Misra in Shravasti. He is the son of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's former chief secretary and Ram Mandir construction committee's chairman Nripendra Misra.

Saket Misra is currently an MLC in Uttar Pradesh, who was nominated by the Governor. The BSP has fielded Muinuddin Ahmed Khan aka Haji Daddan Khan in the Muslim-Dalit-dominated constituency.

Jaunpur

It is believed that the BSP changed its candidate to avoid the controversy attached to Dhananjay Singh, who recently came out of jail on bail in a 2020 kidnapping and extortion case.

Shyam Singh Yadav said that Mayawati called him last night to award him a ticket and asked him to file nomination papers today. Yadav has thus become the only sitting BSP MP to be repeated.

Former Maharashtra Congress leader Kripashankar Singh is the BJP candidate from here as Jaunpur is his native place. He is a former Kalina (in Mumbai Suburban district) MLA and former Minister of State.

The SP has fielded Babu Singh Kushwaha, former UP Minister in the Mayawati cabinet. He is the president of the Jan Adhikar Party, which failed to secure even 1 per cent votes in the 2022 Assembly elections.