SP ‘ borrows’ bypoll candidate

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party has borrowed a candidate from the little- known party for the upcoming byelection in Gorakhpur. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav announced on Sunday that the SP candidate for Gorakhpur bypoll would be Pravin Kumar Nishad, son of Nishad party president.

The SP has borrowed a candidate from the littleknown NISHAD ( Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal) party for the upcoming byelection in Gorakhpur.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav announced at a press conference on Sunday that the SP candidate for Gorakhpur bypoll would be Pravin Kumar Nishad, son of NISHAD Party president Sanjay Nishad.

“The NISHAD Party and the Peace Party are supporting us, but Pravin Kumar Nishad will contest the bypoll on the SP symbol, which is the cycle,” Mr Yadav said.

NISHAD party president Sanjay Nishad and Peace Party president Ayub were present when Mr Yadav made the announcement.

Pravin Kumar, an engineer by profession, is a first time contestant and is confident of getting OBC votes. The NISHAD Party has one MLA in the UP Assembly.

Significantly, Gorakhpur has about four lakh Nishad voters. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Rajmati Nishad of SP had polled 2.26 lakh votes while Ram Bhual Nishad of BSP had finished third with 1.76 lakh votes.

Yogi Adityanath had won the seat for the fifth time with 5.39 lakh votes.

Incidentally, no OBC candidate has ever won the Gorakhpur seat since 1952.

Mr Yadav, meanwhile, has announced Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel as his party candidate for the Phulpur seat where a bypoll is also to be held.

The Congress has already fielded Surhita Chatterjee Kareem, a lady medical practitioner, on the Gorakhpur seats and Manish Misra on the Phulpur seat.