Ex-Congress MLA Aditi Singh To Contest UP Election On BJP Ticket

BJP candidate Aditi Singh: The former MLA who resigned from the Congress party will now be contesting Uttar Pradesh Assembly Polls from Rae Bareli on the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) ticket.

BJP released a list of 85 candidates for the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh. A former police officer of Kanpur Asim Arun will also be contesting the polls from Kannauj on BJP ticket, the party announced on Friday. Aditi Singh's father, Akhilesh Singh was a five-time Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Rae Bareli seat.

His pictures with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra often made rounds whenever she visited Rae Bareli. As per reports, Akhilesh Singh was close to the Gandhi family. Aditi Singh joined BJP in November last year and sent her resignation to the Congress party on January 20.

The Rae Bareli constituency is said to be a Congress stronghold. The President of the party, Sonia Gandhi represents the seat as the Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha. Every year since 1980, Rae Bareli has voted Congress to power except 1996 and 1998 when BJP's Ashok Singh was elected.

Suggested Reading: Raebareli MLA Aditi Singh Resigns From Congress

Another candidate named by BJP is Riya Shakya, she will be contesting from Bidhuna seat. She is the daughter of ex-BJP MLA Vinay Shakya who recently switched to Samajwadi Party. Vinay Shakya left the party with Swami Prasad Maurya, a heavyweight OBC leader and UP Minister.

Shakya is currently bedridden and recently released a statement regarding his daughter being named BJP candidate and the controversy around it. Riya Shakya has claimed that her father was kidnapped by his brother who is aligned with Swami Prasad Maurya. Vinay Shakya rubbished the allegation.

The Uttar Pradesh police also stepped in and clarified that Shakya was not abducted and the allegations were a result of a political and family feud.

The Bharatiya Janta Party has named Nighasan as their candidate in Lakhimpur. Earlier it was speculated that the seat would go to Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, who was accused of running over farmers in October 2021 and killing them. Ashish Mishra is currently in jail and the police have filed a chargesheet in the murder case.

The polling in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27 and March 3 and 7 in seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.