SP declares candidates for Legislative Council polls

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party on Sunday declared its candidates for the biennial state Legislative Council elections due to be held on April 9.

Barring Meerut-Ghaziabad and Bulandshahr seats, which have been left for ally Rashtriya Lok Dal, the party has declared its candidates on all the remaining 34 seats, SP spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury said.

Among those given tickets included Dr Kafeel Khan from Deoria, Mashkoor Ahmad from Rampur-Bareilly, sitting MLCs Sunil Kumar Sajan, Rajesh Kumar, and Udayveer Singh from Lucknow-Unnao, Barabaki, and Mathura-Etah-Mainpuri seats respectively.

The last date for filing nominations is March 21. The counting will be held on April 12.

Currently in the council, the BJP has 35 MLCs, SP has 17, and the BSP has four MLCs.

Congress, Apna Dal (Sonelal), and NISHAD party have one member each.

The Teachers’ group has two MLCs, while the Independent group (‘Nirdal Samooh’), and Independents have one MLC each.

At present 37 seats, including 36 on which elections are being held, are vacant in the 100-member council. A third of its members retire every two years.

In the recently-concluded Assembly elections, the BJP had won 255 seats, while its allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) and NISHAD party had won 12 and six seats, respectively.

Samajwadi Party had won 111 seats, while its allies Rashtriya Lok Dal and SBSP, had won eight and six seats, respectively.

Congress and the BSP had managed to grab only one seat each.