LS polls: SP replaces Meerut candidate again, fields former mayor against BJP's Arun Govil

The Samajwadi Party on Thursday changed its candidate from Meerut Lok Sabha seat for a second time, replacing Atul Pradhan with former mayor Sunita Verma. Pradhan, who had filed his nomination on Wednesday, said he accepts the decision of party national president Akhilesh Yadav, who he met in the morning.

The Samajwadi Party on Thursday changed its candidate from Meerut Lok Sabha seat for a second time, replacing Atul Pradhan with former mayor Sunita Verma. April 4 was the last date for filing nomination in Meerut, which will go to polls on April 26 in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections. The ruling BJP has fielded actor Arun Govil, who played the role of Lord Ram in TV serial ''Ramayan'', from the seat. Pradhan, who had filed his nomination on Wednesday, said he accepts the decision of party national president Akhilesh Yadav, who he met in the morning. In his post on X, Pradhan, who is SP MLA from Sardhana seat, said, ''Whatever decision National President Akhilesh Yadav ji has taken, I accept it. Soon I will sit with supporters and discuss.'' Earlier, the SP had replaced advocate Bhanu Pratap Singh with Atul Pradhan. Confusion had also prevailed in Rampur and Moradabad seats, where two candidates filed their nominations claiming themselves to be the SP candidate. In Rampur, Asim Raza and Mohibulla Nadvi had filed their nominations. Later, Raza's nomination was rejected. In Moradabad, sitting MP ST Hasan, who had earlier filed his nomination, was replaced by Ruchi Veera.

In Budaun too, SP workers have written to the party president to give a ticket to Aditya Yadav instead of his father Shivpal Yadav, who is party candidate for the seat.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhury in a post on X took a dig at his former ally. ''Only the lucky ones in the opposition get the ticket of a Lok Sabha candidate for a few hours! It's luck of those whose tickets were denied (later with another candidate),'' he wrote.

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