Eyes on UP prize, BJP plays the OBC card in first candidate list

IN A shot in the arm for Akhilesh Yadav, the Election Commission Monday handed the party’s bicycle poll symbol to the faction led by the Chief Minister a day before the start of filing of nominations for 73 seats in western UP.

The award of the symbol to Akhilesh was a setback for his father Mulayam Singh Yadav who, earlier in the day, threatened to move court if he was denied the poll symbol — both factions had approached the Election Commission, staking claim to the bicycle symbol of the party.

The SP patriarch stunned party workers by declaring he would fight against Akhilesh if he did not shed his “negative approach” towards Muslims.

In its order Monday evening, the Election Commission, applying the test of majority support approved by the Supreme Court, ruled that the group led by Akhilesh was the Samajwadi IN THE first list of candidates that the BJP declared Monday for 149 seats for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, candidates from backward castes got a significant share as the party picked 56 candidates from the OBC category including Jats, Gujjars, Lodh and other non-yadav groups. These 56 candidates make up 45 per cent of 124 nonreserved seats declared today.

There are at least 26 Thakurs and 15 Brahmins in the list, too. There are 15 Jats and four Gujjars inthelistandallareinwesternup.

The BJP has given ticket to one candidate from a minority community, Baldev Olakh, a Sikh from Bilaspur seat in Rampur district. Olakh is former district president of Rampur.

Among prominent OBC

Vishal Srivastav Supporters of Akhilesh Yadav put up his nameplate below that of his father at the SP headquarters in Lucknow Monday, declaring him the party president.