With the UP election now staring in the face, UP chief minister Mayawati has shed all considerations of caste, corruption and crime and all that matters for her now is the winnability factor.
According to highly placed BSP sources, the chief minister is reassessing the position of her party candidates and over 70 BSP candidates are expected to be changed in the next two or three days.
It is because of the winnability factor that the party has named ousted minister Ranganath Misra as its candidate from Mirzapur. Mr Misra was dropped from the council of minister in October after being indicted by the Lokayukta. The BSP has also denied tickets to sitting MLA Rajesh Gautam from Srinagar, Virendra Kumar and Nitin Agarwal, both from Hardoi. Former minister Rajesh Tripathi — dropped on recommendation of Lokayukta — had been earlier named as BSP candidate from Chillupar but on Sunday, he was replaced with mafia don-turned-politician Hari Shankar Tiwari.
On the Sarojini Nagar seat, BSP candidate Shyam Kishore Yadav, who had been campaigning for almost three months, has been dropped from the list without any warning. The BSP has also denied ticket to Gopamau MLA, Rajeshwari Devi, and has given it to her sister-in-law Anita Verma.
Tickets of O.P. Singh and Pawan Pandey (both Sultanpur) and D.P. Yadav (Badaun) have also been cancelled.
Some of the ministers who have been denied tickets include Subhash Pandey, Daddu Prasad, Avadh Pal Singh Yadav, Badshah Singh, Ratanlal Ahirwar, Anant Misra and Rakesh Dhar Tripathi.
A senior BSP functionary, while disclosing the details, said that most of the changes were also being affected in view of candidates announced by other parties. “Now that most parties have announced their candidates, we are assessing the caste equation and the winnability factor is supreme. Candidates whose campaign has not yet picked up due to lack of interest are also being axed. Moreover, the BSP has not yet officially released its list so candidates can easily be changed at this time. Ms Mayawati is personally assessing the seat-to-seat situation and making changes wherever required,” he said.
“The stature of a leader in the BSP rests below the interests of the party,” he said.