After AAP, Has SP Snubbed Congress By Announcing UP By Polls Candidates Post Haryana Results?

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party has announced names of 6 candidates for the upcoming by-elections in Uttar Pradesh, just a day after Haryana results, where BJP registered a massive victory for the third consecutive time.

The by polls in Uttar Pradesh are set to take on 10 Assembly seats, which were left vacant after Lok Sabha polls as many incumbent MLAs including Akhilesh Yadav contested general elections and were elected as MPs.

Now after Haryana results, SP has released 6 candidates leaving less room for INDIA bloc partner Congress , which was negotiating for a better coalition deal for the by polls.

According to sources, Congress wanted to contest on equal number of seats in UP by polls, based on its Lok Sabha performance, but Haryana results have left the Congress on backfoot, with comparatively less negotiating authority with its alliance partner. 

Who has been fielded by Samajwadi Party for UP bypolls?

The SP has fielded Tej Pratap Yadav from Karhal, while it has given a ticket to Naseem Solanki from the Sisamu seat, Mustafa Siddiqui from Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Ajit Prasad from Milkipur (Ayodhya), according to the party's list issued.

Shobhawai Verma and Jyodi Bind have been given party tickets from Katehari and Majhwan seats, respectively, it stated.

Among the SP candidates, Naseem Solanki is wife of jailed party leader Irfan Solanki, while Shobhawati Verma is wife of party MP Lalji Verma and Ajit Prasad is son of Faizabad (Ayodhya) MP Awadhesh Prasad.

Jyoti Bind is daughter of party leader Ramesh Bind, who lost to Apna Dal (S) candidate Anupriya Patel in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Mirzapur.

All about upcoming UP byelections?

By-elections are set to be held in 10 assembly seats of the state -- Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sisamau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad).

The official date for polls is yet to be announced by the Election Commission.

Nine of these seats fell vacant after its MLAs were elected as MPs in the Lok Sabha polls, while in Sisamau, the bypoll is being held due to the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who was convicted in a criminal case.

The SP, which is a part of the INDIA bloc, has said it will contest the bypolls with the Congress , which is demanding five seats from the party.

The Congress did not share any seat with the SP in the just-concluded Haryana assembly elections in which the BJP stunned with a victory third time in a row, pocketing 48 of the 90 seats.

Earlier on Sunday, Congress 's Uttar Pradesh unit president Ajay Rai told PTI that the state wing has given a proposal to its leadership to contest on five of the 10 bypoll-bound assembly seats in the state.

With inputs from PTI