Four Uttar Pradesh cabinet ministers in fray for LS poll poll

The BJP has so far given Lok Sabha tickets to four Uttar Pradesh cabinet ministers. Mukut Bihari is the latest minister to be fielded for the LS polls. The Bharatiya Janata Party in its first list had named Minister for Animal Husbandry, Minor Irrigation and Fisheries S P Singh Baghel as its candidate from Agra (SC).

The names of Minister for Women, Family, Mother and Child Welfare Rita Bhauguna Joshi (Allahabad) and Minister for Khadi Village Industries, Sericulture, Textile, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Export Promotion Satyadev Pachauri (Kanpur) were announced by the party in its tenth list of candidates on Wednesday. Cooperative Minister Mukut Bihari's name figures in the 21st list released by the party on Monday.

Joshi, who is presently also the tourism minister in the cabinet headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, had contested the 2014 General Elections from Lucknow Parliamentary Constituency on a Congress ticket and lost to the BJP's Rajnath Singh. "Seeing their track record, utility and effectiveness in respective areas, dedication towards the party, communication with the party workers and their overall performance, the names of ministers were zeroed in on," state BJP spokesperson Hero Bajpai told PTI.

Apart from Mukut Bihari, the party announced candidates for six other Parliamentary Constituencies on Monday. Some of the prominent names in the list included Bhojpuri and Hindi film actor Ravi Kishan, who has been fielded for the party's bastion in Gorakhpur. The seat was represented by Adityanath, till he became chief minister.

The saffron party gave ticket to Praveen Nishad from Sant Kabir Nagar. Nishad had earned the title as the giant-killer of Gorakhpur after he pulled off a surprise victory in last year's by-polls.

Nishad had recently joined the BJP. The Nishad Party had ended its alliance with the Samajwadi Party-BSP last week. Praveen Nishad is the son of Sanjay Nishad, who heads the Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal.

The incumbent MP from Sant Kabir Nagar Sharad Tripathi had created a political storm by beating BJP Mehdawal MLA Rakesh Baghel with shoes after the two had an argument over taking credit for a newly laid road. Tripathi has now been dropped from the seat. However, he can seek solace from the fact that the party has given a ticket to his father Ramapati Ram Tripathi from Deoria. Ram Tripathi was the UP BJP chief during 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Deoria is represented by former union minister Kalraj Mishra. The saffron party has given the ticket to Sangam Lal Gupta from Pratapgarh, the parliamentary constituency which was won by BJP ally Apna Dal in 2014.

The party has fielded KP Singh from Jaunpur and Ramesh Bind from Bhadohi, it said in a statement issued on Monday.

(With inputs from agencies.)