Lucknow, Oct 3 (PTI) The Samajwadi Party on Saturday changed two of its candidates in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council polls, announcing the names of Akash Agarwal and Sanjayan Tripathi.
In the Agra Teachers Constituency, the party has fielded Agarwal in place of Prakash Chandra Gupta, while in Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers Constituency Tripathi has been named in place of Kamlesh Yadav.
Speaking to reporters at the party office in Lucknow, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “We have decided with the consent and co-operation of the two colleagues who were the former SP candidates that Dr Akash Agarwal and Dr Sanjayan Tripathi will be the candidates for the upcoming election.”
Expressing his gratitude to Gupta and Yadav, the SP chief said he is confident that they will ensure the victory of Agarwal and Tripathi.
He added that under the BJP government, both the education and examination systems have collapsed.
“The maximum number of paper leaks have occurred in the last 10 years, and the education system has deteriorated the most under the BJP government,” he said.
The SP chief also said BJP members are engaged in rampant discrimination during voter registration, and officials are also supporting them.
“School peons have been designated as teachers, and even those who are not teachers have been registered as voters,” he said.
Elections to five graduates’ and six teachers’ constituencies of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council will be held on October 23, with counting scheduled for October 27.
Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa had earlier announced that the notification for the biennial elections was issued on September 29.
The last date for filing nominations is October 6. Scrutiny will take place on October 7 and candidates can withdraw their nominations till October 9.
Polling will be held from 8 am to 4 pm on October 23. The election process will be completed before October 31, according to the schedule.
The elections have been announced as the terms of the members elected from these constituencies are due to end on December 6.
The outgoing MLCs include six BJP members, three SP members and two Independent members.
A graduates’ constituency is one in which only graduates from any recognised Indian university, or those with an equivalent qualification, are qualified to be enrolled in the voter rolls.
Similarly, in a teachers’ constituency, only a full-time teacher at a secondary school or higher for at least three years out of the previous six years is eligible to vote. PTI NAV SHS
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