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Modi suggests BJP leaders not to press for tickets for kin, but party distributes tickets to fair number of relatives
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): The Uttar Pradesh Assembly election 2017, starting from February 11, will not just be a fight for power, it will be much more than that.
It will also be for inheriting political legacy by the new generation of several leaders cutting across party lines.
If the scions of Samajwadi Party and Congress-Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi-have come together for claiming power through an alliance in the most populous state, there are also sons and daughters of several political big wigs who will be making an electoral splash this time.
Interestingly, many of these debutants also have solid academic backgrounds and have quit promising careers to either pursue family traditions or their heart's call.
Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's suggestion to senior leaders not to press for tickets for their kin, BJP has given nomination to a fair number of new faces having more established names to take up the contest for government formation in UP.
Here is a list of kins of BJP leaders given ticket by party for contesting Uttar Pradesh Assembly election 2017:
1. UP BJP general secretary & HM Rajnath Singh's son Pankaj Singh
Leading the "son rise" brigade of the saffron party is UP BJP general secretary Pankaj Singh, son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh who has been fielded from Noida in place of sitting BJP MLA Bimla Batham.
Pankaj (38), an MBA from Amity University, has been active in politics since 2002 and had been in ticket contention since 2007 Assembly election when he was almost set to make his debut from Chandauli, the home town of Rajnath.
2. Ex-UP CM Kalyan Singh's grandson Sandeep Singh
Rajasthan Governor and former UP CM Kalyan Singh's grandson Sandeep Singh is contesting election from the traditional family seat - Atrauli. Sandeep is a post-graduate from the University of Leeds in
England.
3. BJP MP Hukum Singh's daughter Mriganka
BJP MP Hukum Singh's daughter Mriganka, who runs private schools, has been given party ticket from Kairana.
4. Gopalji
The saffron party has also repeated its sitting MLA from Lucknow (East) Ashutosh Tandon 'Gopalji', the businessman son of senior party leader Lalji Tandon.
Gopalji had won the seat in a bye-election last time.
5. Prateek Bhushan, son of mafia don-turned Gonda MP Brij Bhushan
Also in the BJP list is Prateek Bhushan, son of mafia don-turned Gonda MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Prateek, an MBA from Melbourne University, has got BJP ticket from Gonda.
The saffron party has not disappointed turncoat Swami Prasad Maurya fielding his son Utkarsh from Unchahar seat besides pitting Nilima Katiyar, the daughter of Prem lata Katiyar from Kalyanpur and Sunil Dutt Dwiedi, son of Brahm Dutt Dwiedi from Farrukhabad.
Other parties are also not far behind.
- Congress
- Samajwadi Party
- BSP
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