New Delhi: Samajwadi Party today announced the names of seven candidates for upcoming Rajya Sabha elections to be held on June 11.
The party has decided to send both Amar Singh and Beni Prasad Verma to the Rajya Sabha. Five other Samajwadi Party candidates are – Revati Raman Singh, Sanjay Seth, Arvind Singh, S S Yadav and V P Nishad.
Shivpal Singh Yadav, senior Party leader and PWD Minister in Akhilesh Yadav cabinet, announced the names of Samajwadi Party candidates today.
The speculation over Mulayam Singh Yadav having made his mind to patch up with Amar Singh was rife in political circles for quite some time now. If sources are to be believed, a section of senior party leadership including Ram Gopal Yadav and Azam Khan were not happy with Mulayam’s decision to send Amar Singh to Rajya Sabha and they had opposed his move to rehabilitate Singh.
The ticket to Beni Prasad Verma also indicates that Mulayam Singh had the final say in selection of candidates and he did not listen to those who raised objections to his choice of candidates.
Beni Prasad Verma, a formidable Kurmi leader in the state, had parted ways with Mulayam Singh Yadav 9 years ago after a long association with the Samajwadi Party. He made his ‘ghar wapasi’ to Samajwadi Party on May 14 this month. Political circles were abuzz with the speculation of Beni Prasad being promised a Rajya Sabha seat by none other than Mulayam Singh himself.
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Mulayam Singh Yadav’s move to send Amar Singh and Beni Prasad Verma to Rajya Sabha is being seen as part of his strategy to boost Samajwadi Party’s chances in next year’s Assembly elections in the state. Amar Singh has the reputation of a good election manager and a formidable fund raiser as well. In addition to that, he is also looked upon as someone who has considerable support among the Rajput voters of the state.
Similarly, the party hopes to benefit from Beni Prasad Verma’s hold among the Kurmi voters of the state. Wary of a resurgent BJP and an aggressive Mayawati-led BSP, Mulayam Singh Yadav does not want to leave any stone unturned in ensuring a good performance by the Samajwadi Party in 2017 Assembly elections.
11 Rajya Sabha seats are to be filled from Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party is sure to get 6 seats under proportional voting system. The party hopes to bag the seventh seat with the help of independents and others. What is interesting is that the party has decided not to take any chance with Amar Singh’s election and in all likelihood, Singh is poised to be the part of 6 certain winning candidates.
Election to 11 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh will be held on June 11. Biennial elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats including the one vacated by liquor baron Vijay Mallya will be held on the same day.
