UP Assembly polls: BJP releases 1st list of candidates, Adityanath to contest from Gorakhpur

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also informed that Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya will contest from Sirathu.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday (January 15, 2022) released the first list of nominees for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

The list was released during a press conference by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh at party headquarters in New Delhi. 

The BJP released the list of 57 candidates who will contest in the first phase, 48 in the second phase and 105 in the third phase.

Dharmendra Pradhan also ended the speculations around Yogi Adityanath and informed that he will contest from Gorakhpur.

Yogi Adityanath, notably, is a five-term former Lok Sabha member from Gorakhpur and is currently a member of the state's Legislative Council.

Earlier, there were reports that the BJP is considering fielding the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister from Ayodhya or Mathura. Adityanath, however, had said that he was willing to contest the assembly polls from wherever the party's top brass decides.

Meanwhile, Dharmendra Pradhan also informed that the current deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya will fight from Sirathu.

The BJP, notably, has recently suffered a setback after as many as seven leaders including cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya deserted the party. Maurya along with his former cabinet colleague Dharam Singh Saini and five other BJP MLA had joined the Samajwadi Party on Friday.

PM Modi to interact with BJP workers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with BJP members from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi on January 18. It is likely to be a virtual interaction.

This will be the Prime Minister's first political programme involving party workers after the Election Commission announced the schedule for the elections to five state assemblies, including Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections to take place in seven phases

Elections for the 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting February 10. The polling in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27 and March 3 and 7.

The counting of votes will take place on March 10.

Earlier in the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP had won 312 Assembly seats and had secured a 39.67 per cent vote share. The SP had bagged 47 seats, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won 19 and Congress had managed to win seven seats.