Lucknow: After facing an uphill task in finalizing names for Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav is going through similar situation in the legislative council polls.
The notification for the elections of 13 seats of UP legislative council has been issued and as per the number of MLAs in assembly, SP could win four seats. However the SP chief is finding it tough to select the name of four candidates with pressures from own party leaders as well as the allies. On Wednesday, Akhilesh visited ailing senior leader Azam Khan in Gangaram hospital at Delhi and remained there for three hours. During his meeting Azam, Akhilesh told him about the eagerness of SP leaders and allies about the legislative council tickets. Besides both leaders also discussed about the probable candidates for by-polls of Azamgarh and Rampur parliamentary seats scheduled this month.
It is learnt that Akhilesh Yadav would announce the name of party candidates for Azamgarh and Rampur seats this week. While the SP Chief might field wife Dimple Yadav from Azamgarh, the name of daughter in law of Azam Khan, Sidra Khan has been finalized for Rampur. However, Akhilesh has been facing real problem regarding the selection of candidates for the legislative council seats.
It may be mentioned that UP legislative council has a total of 100 seats of which 13 would fall vacant on July 6. Elections for these 13 seats would be held on June 20 and nomination process for it has begun on Thursday. Former minister Swami Prasad Maurya, senior leader Imran Masood, who had switched loyalties from congress just before assembly polls, are the prominent contenders with in SP for legislative council seats. Besides the ally of SP, Suheldeo Rajbhar Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) Chief Om Prakash Rajbhar is seeking ticket for his son and another ally Rashtriya Lok Dal too is in the Que. The close lieutenants of SP Chief Suneel Singh Sajan, Sanjay Lathar and Udayveer Singh also have ambitions to go to the upper house again. The claim of senior leaders of SP Ram Govind Choudhury and Ram Asrey Vishwakarma too is a cause of worry for Akhilesh Yadav.
According to senior leaders of SP, the party chief would soon find an amicable solution of this problem that suits allies’ as well party men. They said that ally RLD has been accommodated in RS and no one would question the choice of Akhilesh Yadav for legislative council seats within the party.
