The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday sent Union State Minister SP Singh Baghel as its candidate for the Karhal parliamentary seat against Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections.
The Karhal parliamentary seat is part of the Mainpuri parliamentary constituency and was once represented by SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. SP founder represents Mainpuri in Lok Sabha. A former Uttar Pradesh Police Deputy Inspector, Baghel was a former security officer for CM Mulayam Singh Yadav, who brought him into politics.
This is the second time Baghel has contested against Akhilesh, the first being in the Lok Sabha election from Firozabad in 2009. Baghel is the Lok Sabha MP from Agra and the MoS responsible for law and justice.
The SP chief is also Baghel’s third poll rival from the Yadav family in the last 13 years. He has previously contested against Akhilesh’s wife Dimple Yadav in the 2009 Firozabad Lok Sabha by-election and Mulayam’s cousin Ram Gopal Yadav’s son Akshay in the 2014 Lok Sabha election from the same constituency. Baghel lost on both occasions.
Voting for the Kalhar parliament seat will be held for the third time in seven-stage elections in Uttar Pradesh on February 20.
“Baghel will win. Akhilesh ji will do well now to ensure he wins as many seats as he did in 2017,” state Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said during the Bhogaon campaign, which the BJP won in 2017 A rally seat in Mainpuri.
After submitting the nomination on Monday, Baghel told reporters shortly after Akhilesh’s filing that he would “have a hard battle with Akhilesh.”
The BJP is also stationed with Vivek Shakya from Jaswant Nagar in Etawah and Manoj Prajapati from Hamirpur.
Complete News Source : Hindustan Times
