Fresh fight in SP over LS tickets

Despite party leadership’s efforts large-scale resentment still brews within Samajwadi Party over distribution of tickets for the next Lok Sabha elections, fuelling speculations that more nominees could be dropped in the near future.

In a fresh rebellion, SP legislator from Sultanpur Abrar Ahmed Khan has warned the leadership that he will not campaign for the official nominee from Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat Shakeel Ahmed and demanded that he be replaced.

Khan alleged that Shakeel Ahmed did not have a ‘clean image’ and that he had been involved in ‘extortion’ activities.

“There is no question of campaigning for Shakeel Ahmed. He must be replaced,” Khan said.

Khan was supported by another senior leader from the district, Manibhadra Singh.
SP, which had taken a lead in releasing its list of nominees for almost all the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, dropped several nominees and replaced them with fresh faces after their candidature was opposed by local leaders.

The resentment had spilled on to the streets a few days ago  when the supporters of SP leaders, who were dropped after being given the ticket, held demonstrations before the SP headquarters. Police had to use force to disperse them.

Supporters of senior SP leader Daroga Prasad Saroj, who was nominated from Lalganj seat but later dropped, had raised anti-party slogans during their protest. The SP had replaced Saroj with Bechai.

Party leaders from Shravasti district also protested the nomination of Yassir Shah and demanded his replacement. Similar resentment prevailed over the recently declared SP nominee from Ghazipur, Shivkanya, the wife of the tainted former BSP leader Babu Singh Kushwaha.

SP leaders said party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had been personally assessing the winnability of each nominee.

The party has formed a team of observers to assess the winnability of candidates in different constituencies. These observers had visited the constituencies of different nominees and spoken to the local leaders and a cross section of the electorate to ascertain whether the nominees could emerge victorious.

SP had replaced Anuradha Chaudhary with Ameer Alam in Bijnore, while Kajal Sharma was replaced with Zafar Alam in Aligarh. It had also dropped Kirtivardhan Singh from Gonda and replaced him with Rahul Shukla.