SP nominates SP Maurya to UP legislative council, miffs ally Rajbhar

The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party on Wednesday termed the list of candidates released by its alliance partner Samajwadi Party for the Uttar Pradesh legislative council elections as “disappointing”. 

No SBSP member has made it to the list. 

According to party sources, its chief Om Prakash Rajbhar had been hoping that the SP would field his son Arvind Rajbhar. 

"Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav's decision is disappointing for workers of the SBSP," its national spokesperson Piyush Mishra said in a tweet after four SP candidates filed their nominations in Lucknow. 

Among these four candidates is Swami Prasad Maurya, who quit the Bharatiya Janata Party and joined the SP just before the assembly elections which were held a few months ago. 

On the Rajya Sabha elections, Mishra, without naming the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), said an ally that won eight out of the 38 seats it contested in the assembly elections made it to the Upper House of Parliament but the SBSP was ignored despite winning six of its 16 seats. 

Mishra was ostensibly referring to RLD's Jayant Chaudhary, who has been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from the SP quota. 

When asked about Mishra's tweet, SBSP chief Rajbhar told reporters at the party's head office in Rasra that he is the party's national spokesperson and his words are important. 

"The truth has to be accepted," he said. 

Rajbhar, however, made it clear that he is with the SP-led alliance and will extend full support to make the candidates not only in the council polls but also the bypolls on two Lok Sabha seats -- Azamgarh and Rampur. 

Bypolls to these parliamentary constituencies were necessitated after senior SP leader Azam Khan and the party chief Akhilesh Yadav were elected to the Uttar Pradesh assembly in March. 

The election process for 13 seats of the Uttar Pradesh legislative council is underway and the nominations will be accepted till Thursday. 

They will be scrutinised on Friday. June 13 will be the last date for withdrawal of nominations. 

Voting, if needed, will be held on June 20 and the results will be declared the same day.