Lucknow, Oct 3 — Ahead of the upcoming Member of Legislative Council (MLC) elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Saturday announced changes to two of its candidates, replacing the candidates earlier named for the Agra and Gorakhpur-Faizabad teachers' constituencies.
The SP withdrew the candidature of Ram Prakash Gupta, who had earlier been announced as the party's candidate from the Agra division. He has now been replaced by Akash Agrawal, the outgoing teachers' MLC who recently joined the Samajwadi Party.
According to the party, the decision to field Agrawal was influenced by his support among teachers as well as his organisational standing at the local level.
The party has also changed its candidate for the Gorakhpur-Faizabad teacher constituency.
Sanjay Tripathi has emerged as the new SP candidate after the party earlier announced Kamlesh Yadav for the seat.
SP President Akhilesh Yadav said that the changes had been made with the consent of the concerned leaders.
While welcoming the newly selected candidates, he also expressed gratitude to the candidates who had initially been announced by the party for the two constituencies.
Akhilesh Yadav thanked Kamlesh Yadav and Prakash Chandra Gupta, along with their families and supporters, for their cooperation and support for the party's decision.
He said that he would remain "forever grateful" to them for standing by the party.
The SP Chief also said that both the previously announced candidates would be assigned appropriate responsibilities at the appropriate time.
The party had earlier named Kamlesh Yadav as its candidate for the Gorakhpur-Faizabad teacher constituency and Prakash Chandra Gupta for the Agra teacher constituency. With the latest changes, the SP has replaced both candidates and brought in new faces for the two seats.
Voting for these two constituencies, along with 11 other Legislative Council seats falling under the teacher and graduate quota, is scheduled to take place on October 23. The counting of votes will be conducted on October 27.
"The arrival of these two experienced leaders will strengthen the party in the elections," Akhilesh Yadav said, while appealing to SP workers to extend their full support to the new candidates and work towards ensuring the victory of all party nominees.
The selection of Sanjay Tripathi for the Gorakhpur-Faizabad seat is particularly significant in the context of the ongoing political contest. Tripathi had reportedly been seeking a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket during the election campaign.
After the BJP nominated Dhruv Tripathi for the constituency, Sanjay Tripathi distanced himself from the party and announced that he would contest the election as an independent candidate.
The Samajwadi Party subsequently fielded him as its candidate, bringing him into the party's electoral fold for the MLC contest.
Akash Agrawal, meanwhile, has previously served as an Independent MLC from the Agra Teachers' constituency. His term is also among those coming to an end with the present election, making the SP's decision to nominate him significant as the party seeks to utilise his previous electoral experience and support base among teachers in the region.
During the announcement of the candidates, Akhilesh Yadav also launched an attack on the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh. He alleged that BJP members had fraudulently secured votes and raised questions about the functioning of the state's governance, administration and policing systems over the past 10 years.
The SP Chief also alleged that action under the Goonda Act would be taken against a person who posted a video on social media showing a flooded road in Gorakhpur.
Referring to the murder of a wrestler in Sant Kabir Nagar, Akhilesh Yadav said that several such incidents had taken place across the state.
Citing comments made by the Supreme Court regarding the police system, the SP Chief added, "The police system in the state has deteriorated."
He also indicated that education and the examination system would be among the key issues that the party would raise during the upcoming elections.
He alleged that paper leaks had increased during the BJP government's tenure and claimed that discrimination had taken place in government recruitment and jobs.
Akhilesh Yadav said the Samajwadi Party would include issues concerning ad-hoc teachers, unaided teachers, Shiksha Mitras and the old pension scheme in its manifesto.
He also questioned the condition of the state's healthcare system and said that the SP would provide free treatment to poor people if it returned to power.
"If the Samajwadi Party forms the government, free treatment will be provided to the poor," he said.
The SP President also placed the party's PDA, referring to the alliance of backward, Dalit and minority communities, at the centre of its electoral campaign.
He said the Samajwadi Party, along with the INDIA bloc, had defeated the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and claimed that the BJP would not be able to withstand the strength of the PDA in the upcoming Assembly elections.
"Youth lack adequate jobs and employment opportunities, and unemployment is rising... During the Samajwadi Party government, laptops were provided to youth, and today, these same youth are questioning the government through mobile phones and laptops," Akhilesh Yadav added.