BSP all set to field candidate in Rajya Sabha by-election in UP

In a surprise move, the Mayawati-led BSP is all set to field a candidate for the November 9 Rajya Sabha by-election in Uttar Pradesh though it lacks the required numbers to secure victory.

In a surprise move, the Mayawati-led BSP is all set to field a candidate for the November 9 Rajya Sabha by-election in Uttar Pradesh though it lacks the required numbers to secure victory. The BSP has decided to field its national coordinator Ramji Gautam and the nomination papers will be filed on Monday, a party leader said on condition of anonymity.

"We have taken a nomination paper for Ramji Gautam with the signatures of 10 MLAs and he will file his nomination on Monday," the leader said. The assembly secretariat confirmed collection of a nomination paper in the name of Ramji Gautam.

The by-election to 10 Rajya Sabha seats will take place on November 9. According to an assembly secretarial official, there are 395 MLAs currently and it is necessary to secure votes of around 37 members to win a Rajya Sabha seat from UP.

The ruling BJP, having 304 members in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, is set to win eight to nine seats, and the main opposition Samajwadi Party with 48 MLAs will easily secure only one seat. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has 18 MLAs. The Apna Dal has nine members, the Congress seven, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party four and five are Independents.

The BSP leader said, "Parties like the Congress and the Bharatiya Samaj Party do not have the numbers and the Samajwadi Party too with its present strength is not in a position to get its second candidate elected. If all want to stop the BJP, they will support us though we have not yet had any discussion with them". Among the 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh falling vacant on November 25, the BJP held three, Samajwadi Party four, Bahujan Samaj Party two and the Congress one.

The 10 retiring members are Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Arun Singh and Neeraj Shekhar of the BJP; Chandrapal Singh Yadav, Ram Gopal Yadav, Ram Prakash Verma and Javed Ali Khan of the SP; Rajaram and Veer Singh of the BSP; and Panna Lal Punia of the Congress..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)