The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Tuesday announced the names of 16 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024. Dimple Yadav will contest from Mainpuri, Shafiqur Rahman Barq from Sambhal, and Ravidas Mehrotra from Lucknow.
Among the other candidates named are Akshay Yadav (Ferozabad), Devesh Shakya (Eta), Dharmendra Yadav (Badaun), Utkarsh Verma (Khiri), Anand Bhadauriya (Dhaurahara), Annu Tandon (Unnao), Naval Kishore Shakya (Farrukhabad), Raja Ram Pal (Akbarpur), Shiv Shankar Singh Patel (Banda), Awadhesh Prasad (Faizabad), Lalji Verma (Ambedkar Nagar), Ram Prasad Chaudhary (Basti), and Kajal Nishad (Gorakhpur).
The announcement of the names comes after Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that seat-sharing talks with the Congress for 11 constituencies were off to a "promising start". It is still unclear which seats were discussed between the two parties.
The Samajwadi Party, which is the strongest I.N.D.I.A constituent in Uttar Pradesh, had a rocky start in the alliance with the Congress. However, after multiple rounds of meetings, the two parties seem to be working on a solution for the issue of seat sharing.
Uttar Pradesh sends the highest number of members to Lok Sabha — 80. Hence, this will be a crucial state for the I.N.D.I.A bloc which wants to unseat the BJP.
Who Are The 16 SP Candidates For Lok Sabha 2024 Elections?
At 93, five-time MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq is the oldest among the 16 candidates. He has previously won the Lok Sabha elections from Moradabad and Sambhal. He is currently the sitting MP from Sambhal. Earlier, he won the UP Assembly polls from the Sambhal constituency on tickets from different parties.
Ravidas Mehrotra, 68, is the sitting MLA from the Lucknow Central constituency. The three-time MLA was also a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government.
Former Firozabad MP Akshay Yadav (37), is the son of SP secretary-general Ram Gopal Verma. He lost the constituency to BJP's Chandrasen Jadon in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Former BSP leader Devesh Shakya is the brother of Bidhuna MLA Vinay Shakya. He was in the news in 2022, when Vinay's daughter Riya accused him of "kidnapping" Vinay and forcing him to quit BJP to join SP.
Dharmendra Yadav will contest his old seat, Badaun, which he lost to BJP's Sanghmitra Maurya in 2019.
Utkarsh Verma won the Lakhimpur Assembly seat in 2010, becoming India's youngest MLA. He won the seat again in 2012.
Former MLC Anand Bhadauria is a close aide of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and will contest the Dhaurahara.
Former Unnao MP Annu Tandon moved to the SP from the Congress in 2020. The 66-year-old philanthropist will fight for her old seat on an SP ticket this time.
Oncologist Naval Kishore Shakya is the former son-in-law of SP leader and former UP minister Swami Prasad Maurya. He joined the SP in 2018.
Raja Ram Pal is a former MP from the Akbarpur Lok Sabha Constituency. He was a part of the BSP until his expulsion in 2005 after he was allegedly caught accepting bribes in a sting operation.
Former state minister Shiv Shankar Singh Patel quit the BJP in 2021 after being suspended for "anti-party activities" during the panchayat elections. He will now contest the Banda seat on an SP ticket.
Nine-time MLA and five-time minister, 78-year-old Awadhesh Prasad is considered close to Yadavs. Hailing from the Passi community, the Milkipur MLA is going to be a key face in the Lok Sabha 2024 election.
Former minister in the Mayawati government, Lalji Verma joined the SP in 2021 after he was expelled from the BSP for alleged anti-party activities. He will contest the Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha seat.
Another former MLA, Ram Prasad Chaudhary was expelled from the BSP by Mayawati for "anti-party" activities in 2019. He won the 1989 Lok Sabha election and then went on to win six state assembly elections. He will contest the Basti seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha election on an SP ticket.
Hoping to cash in on her popularity in the Hindi and Bhojpuri entertainment industry, the SP has selected actor-turned-politician Kajal Nishad to contest in UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's bastion — Gorakhpur. While the BJP is yet to announce its candidate for the seat, Nishad is likely to go up against fellow actor and sitting MP Ravi Kishan in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Nishad, now 41, had earlier unsuccessfully contested the 2012 Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket.
Dimple Yadav (46) is the incumbent Mainpuri MP. She is the wife of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. She will fight to retain her seat this year. She earlier won the Kannauj constituency twice, before winning Mainpuri in the 2022 bypoll.