Samajwadi Party replaces two Uttar Pradesh council nominees with BJP rebels

The Samajwadi Party on October 3 replaced two of its candidates for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, naming two Bharatiya Janata Party rebels who had been seeking nominations from the ruling party. Akash Agarwal was fielded in the Agra Teachers Constituency in place of Prakash Chandra Gupta. Sanjayan Tripathi was named for the Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers Constituency, replacing Kamlesh Yadav.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav said at a press conference in Lucknow that the two new candidates had been declared with the consent of the previously announced nominees. He said party workers and leaders would campaign for all the candidates in the graduate and teachers’ constituencies. Yadav also criticised the BJP government’s record on education and examinations.

He alleged that paper leaks had damaged the prospects of young aspirants and said the education and examination systems had collapsed. He further alleged discrimination in government recruitment and exploitation of teachers. The SP president said the party would include the demands of unfunded teachers, Shikshamitras and supporters of the old pension scheme in its manifesto for the 2027 Assembly elections.

The source material does not include a response from the BJP to those allegations. SP spokesperson Udaiveer Singh said the decision had been taken in consultation with the earlier candidates and would strengthen the party’s campaign on social justice. He said the party hoped to win all the seats being contested in the teachers’ and graduate constituencies.

Elections will be held in five graduate and six teachers’ constituencies on October 23. Counting is scheduled for October 27.