BJP picks Chauhan as candidate for UP legislative council bypoll despite Assembly election defeat

Chauhan comes from an extremely backward caste and the BJP's decision to field him for the MLC seat, which he is all but certain to win, underlines the party's efforts to keep its broad social coalition in the state intact ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday named former Uttar Pradesh minister Dara Singh Chauhan as its candidate for the bypoll to a seat in the state's legislative council, months after he lost an Assembly by-election.

Chauhan, a party-hopper, was elected as an MLA from Ghosi as a Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, but quit to join the BJP last year. However, he failed to win the seat as a BJP candidate as his SP rival prevailed. Chauhan was in the BJP before joining the SP.

Chauhan comes from an extremely backward caste and the BJP's decision to field him for the MLC seat, which he is all but certain to win, underlines the party's efforts to keep its broad social coalition intact in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.