The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has revealed its candidates for the upcoming Member of Legislative Council (MLC) elections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. A total of seven candidates has been named for the Uttar Pradesh MLC and three has been named for Bihar.
In Bihar, the BJP has nominated Mangal Pandey, Lal Mohan Gupta, and Anamika Singh as its candidates for the MLC seats. Mangal Pandey, a seasoned leader, has been given another opportunity to represent the party in the legislative council. Alongside Pandey, Mohan Lal Gupta and Anamika Singh have also been finalised as MLC candidates.
BJP List Of MLC Candidates For Bihar:
Mangal Pandey
Mohan Lal Gupta
Anamika Singh
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP's candidate list comprises Vijay Bahadur Pathak, Dr. Mahendra Kumar Singh, Ashok Katariya, Mohit Beniwal, Dharmendra Singh, Ram Tirath Singhal, and Santosh Singh. Vijay Bahadur Pathak, a veteran politician from Maniyar village in Phulpur assembly constituency, has been actively involved in BJP politics for decades and currently serves as an MLC.
BJP List Of MLC Candidates For Uttar Pradesh:
Mahendra Kumar Singh
Ashok Katariya
Mohit Beniwal
Dharmendra Singh
Ram Tirath Singhal
Santosh Singh
Vijay Bahadur Pathak
Dr. Mahendra Kumar Singh, a member of the Legislative Council since 2012, has previously held the position of Jal Shakti Minister in the state government. Ashok Katariya, known for his leadership within the Gurjar community, has served as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and held ministerial portfolios in the state government until March 2022.
Dharmendra Singh Sainthwar, hailing from Gorakhpur, has been nominated as an MLC candidate and is recognised for his close association with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Similarly, Ram Tirath Singhal, former mayor of Jhansi has been selected to contest for an MLC seat.
Santosh Singh, former President of Lucknow University and a five-time state minister brings extensive political experience to the party's candidature. He is also the current state vice president of BJP.
The MLC elections will witness members of the Legislative Assembly casting their votes to fill 13 vacant seats on May 5. Out of these seats, the BJP plans to contest on 10 seats. One seat will be allocated to the Apna Dal (S) in the NDA alliance, with Apna Dal (S) national president Ashish Patel as the candidate.
The nomination process for the MLC elections has witnessed participation from other political parties as well. NDA ally Janata Dal-United (JDU) has nominated CM Nitish Kumar and Khalid Anwar as its candidates, while Santosh Suman from Jitan Ram Manjhi's party, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), has also filed his nomination papers.