Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh’s daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav and Congress candidate Raj Babbar will file their papers for the by-election to the Firozabad Lok Sabha constituency on Wednesday, when the notification will be issued and the filing of nominations begins.
By-elections will be held in 11 Assembly constituencies and the lone Lok Sabha seat of Firozabad on November 7. About 50-lakh voters will exercise their franchise. Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha announced the election schedule here on Tuesday.
The Assembly seats going to the polls are Lucknow West, Puwayan (reserved), Isauli, Hainsar Bazaar (reserved), Padrauna, Kol Asla, Rari, Etawah, Bhartana, Lalitpur and Jhansi.
The focus will be on Firozabad, where the election here has been necessitated by the resignation of Akhilesh Yadav, Mr. Mulayam Singh’s son and State president of the Samajwadi Party. He was elected from Kannauj and Firozabad in the Lok Sabha elections held in May.
Ms. Yadav is being challenged by actor-turned politician Raj Babbar, once a close associate of Mr. Mulayam Singh. A former Samajwadi Party MP from Agra, Mr. Babbar contested the May elections from Fatehpur Sikri on Congress ticket and lost to Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Seema Upadhyaya.
The filing of nominations will end on October 21, and the papers scrutinised the next day. October 24 is the last date for withdrawal and counting will be held on November 10.
