Lok Sabha elections 2019: Raj Babbar to contest from Fatehpur Sikri in UP

AGRA: Just a week after the Congress finalized the candidature of Rajya Sabha MP and it’s UP state president, Raj Babbar, from Moradabad, the actor turned politician on Saturday opted to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha polls from Fatehpur Sikri.
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Announcing this decision here on Saturday Babbar, who hails from Agra, said, “this is my hometown and people wanted me to contest from here”. He said he had accepted the Moradabad seat earlier, as Fatehpur Sikri has to go to the alliance partners in case the ‘maha ghatbandhan’ had worked out.
In an apparent show of strength, Babbar’s announcement of the change of seat was timed with the joining of four ex-MLAs, three from BSP and one from RLD, and their supporters.With these senior leaders by his side Babbar said that unlike Moradabad, this constituency and its people were “well known” to him.
The three ex-MLAs from the BSP, who joined the congress party are - Dr Dharampal Singh, Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha and Surajpal Singh. RLD leader Onkar Singh and a former MLA of RLD from Sadabad, Dr Anil Chaudhary, have also joined the Congress.
Babbar has been two time MP from Samajwadi Party in 1999 and 2004 in Agra. While in 1999 he defeated BJP’s Bhagwan Shankar, in 2004 he won against BJP’s Murarilal Fatehpuria. However, after delimitation in 2008, the Agra LS seat became a reserved one.
Babbar got re-elected to Lok Sabha from Firozabad in the by-elections held in 2009 by defeating Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav. However, he lost the last lok sabha polls to BJP’s Gen VK Singh from Ghaziabad.
He will be up against BJP’s Raj Kumar Chaher and BSP’s Rajveer Singh this time.