UP by-polls: BJP announces candidates for Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats

LUCKNOW: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced its candidates for by-polls to Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats.

Seasoned party leader Upendra Shukla will contest from Gorakhpur while former Varanasi mayor Kaushalendra Singh Patel will contest from Phulpur. 

Meanwhile, the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) decided to contest the polls separately in the UP by-polls. The Congress has already named its nominees for both the constituencies. Dr Sureetha will contest from Gorakhpur while Manish Mishra will contest from the Phulpur. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday announced the name of the party candidates will soon be declared. 

Voting for the Lok Sabha bye-elections will be held on March 11, while counting of votes will be held on March 14. 

The two seats in Uttar Pradesh fell vacant after UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya resigned from the Lok Sabha following their appointments last year. 

Gorakhpur assumes significance as it is the bastion of Adityanath, who has represented it in Lok Sabha five times. Prior to Adityanath, Gorakhpur was thrice represented in the Parliament by his mentor Avaidyanath. 

Phulpur, once the bastion of Congress, had been represented by late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. BJP won the seat for the first time during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. 

"There are only two waves - Modi wave and Yogi wave - in Uttar Pradesh, thanks to their vision for development as reflected in both the Union and state budgets," said UP BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla. 

With agency inputs