Uttar Pradesh: BJP declares six more names for Vidhan Parishad polls

LUCKNOW: The Bharatiya Janata kept caste and regional equations in mind as it selected the remaining six candidates for the forthcoming Vidhan Parishad polls on Saturday. The party, which is sure to win 10 out 12 seats falling vacant, had earlier announced the names of four candidates.
The six names announced on Saturday are: former working chairman of Vidhan Parishad Kunwar Manvendra Singh, former MLA and state BJP vice-president Salil Vishnoi, Govind Shukla and Ashwini Tyagi, both state general secretaries and Mati Kala Board chairman Dharmaveer Prajapati.
The sixth candidate is Surendra Chaudhary, who quit BSP to join BJP five years ago and had been given a ticket from Soraon. However, the seat went to Apna Dal in the pre-poll alliance and he had to wait for four long years for his rehabilitation. He is considered close to deputy CM Keshav Maurya.
The four candidates announced earlier are BJP state president Swatanra Dev Singh, deputy CM Dinesh Sharma, retired IAS officer AK Sharma and and party veteran Laxman Acharya.
According to political observers, the ruling party is likely to play safe and not go for the 11th candidate as it has strength to get 10 candidates elected. SP which can get elected one candidate has fielded two nominees.
Out of 10 candidates, six belong to upper castes, two backwards and two scheduled castes. Among six upper castes, there are two Brahmins, two Bhumihars and one Vaishya. One Kurmi and a Prajapti completes the OBC list while a Dhobi and a Kharwar are the two dalits.