UP Legislative Council polls: 10 NDA, 3 SP candidates elected unopposed

Lucknow, Thirteen candidates, including 10 of the NDA and three of Samajwadi Party, were elected unopposed in the biennial elections to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council here on Thursday. Thursday was the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers. The elected candidates were also presented certificates, special secretary to the UP Vidhan Sabha B B Dubey told PTI.

The seven candidates of the BJP who have been elected are former ministers Mahendra Singh and Ashok Katariya, Vijay Bahadur Pathak (state BJP vice-president), Santosh Singh, Mohit Beniwal, Ram Tirath Singhal (former mayor of Jhansi) and Dharmendra Singh.

Apart from these, three candidates of the NDA partners — Ashish Patel of Apna Dal (S), Yogesh Chaudhary of Rashtriya Lok Dal and Vichhelal of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) — were also declared elected. SP candidates who made it to the UP Legislative Council included senior party leader Balram Yadav, former MLA Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali and Kiranpal Kashyap.

The term of 13 members of the council is coming to an end in May this year.

The elected candidates had filed their nomination papers on March 11, the last date for filing of nominations. According to BJP insiders, there has been an attempt to strike a caste and regional balance through the legislative council elections, especially in view of the coming Lok Sabha polls.