UP Bypolls 2024: Samajwadi Party announces candidates for 6 seats, Tej Pratap Yadav to contest from Karhal

The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Wednesday announced the names of 6 candidates for the upcoming by-elections to the State Legislative Assembly. Tej Pratap Yadav will contest from Karhal, while Nasim Solank has been fielded from Sishamau and Ajit Prasad from Milkipur. Mustafa Siddiqi has been fielded from Phulpur, Shobahwati Verma from Katehari, and Dr Jyoti Bind from Manjhwa.

Bypolls are due in 10 constituencies but the SP has announced candidates only for 6 seats as it has left rest 4 seats for its alliance partner Congress. The assembly seats where bypolls are due are: Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sishamau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad). 

Nine of these seats fell vacant after their MLAs were elected as MPs in the Lok Sabha polls, while bypolls are being held on the Sishamau seat due to the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who was convicted in a criminal case. 

In the 2022 assembly polls, Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal, Milkipur and Kundarki seats were won by the SP; while Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Kahir elected BJP MLAs. The Meerapur seat was held by the RLD.

The dates for the by-elections in Uttar Pradesh have not yet been announced. The Karhal seat became vacant after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was elected as an MP from Kannauj, while the Katehari seat was vacated by Lalji Verma of the SP following his election to the Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha seat.

Similarly, SP leader Awadhesh Prasad resigned from the Milkipur assembly seat after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Ayodhya, and Zia-ur Rahman Barq's Kundarki seat in Moradabad was vacated following his election to the Sambhal Lok Sabha seat.

Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Chandan Chauhan vacated the Meerapur assembly seat in Muzaffarnagar after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Bijnor. In Ghaziabad, the seat was left vacant after BJP’s Atul Garg was elected as an MP from the same constituency.

The BJP’s Vinod Kumar Bind resigned from the Majhawan assembly seat in Mirzapur after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhadohi. Additionally, Anoop Singh, also known as Anoop Pradhan Balmiki, vacated the Khair assembly seat in Aligarh following his election from Hathras, and Praveen Patel resigned from the Phulpur assembly seat in Prayagraj after his election to the Lok Sabha from the same constituency.