With the biennial elections to the 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh scheduled to be held on November 20, hectic lobbying is on for getting a Samajwadi Party nomination. The lobbying is not limited to politicians alone, even some caste-based organisations, which support the ruling party and with pockets of influence among their communities, too want a representation in the Rajya Sabha.
The Samajwadi Party, which has 230 MLAs in the Vidhan Sabha - the electoral college consists of 403 elected members - is expected to win six of the 10 seats.
The names of the probable candidates were discussed by Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav in New Delhi on Tuesday. Another meeting is likely to be held next week when the candidates would be finalised. Nominations open on November 3 with November 10 the last date for submitting the papers for the November 20 polls.
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According to informed sources in the Samajwadi Party, while the nomination of Prof Ram Gopal Yadav appears certain, some other names, including those of former MPs, Shafiqur Rehman Barq and Reoti Raman Singh and former Minister Ashok Bajpai, are making rounds of the party circles.
Even former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh’s name is being mentioned for a possible nomination. Mr. Amar Singh and Prof Ram Gopal Yadav are among the 10 MPs whose term ends on November 25. The election process for the 10 seats has to be completed before November 22.
The Rashtriya Nishad Sangh (National Association of Fishermen), which consists of representatives drawn from the Nishad, Mallah, Kashyap, Raikwar, Bind and Turha Most Backward Castes, has thrown its lot behind the Samajwadi Party since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. On Wednesday, the State president of the Nishad Sangh, Kailash Nath Nishad, urged Mr. Mulayam Singh and Mr. Akhilesh Yadav to send the national secretary of the Nishad Sangh, Lautan Ram Nishad to the Rajya Sabha from the SP quota. He said the move would help the Samajwadi Party in mobilising the MBCs ahead of the 2017 Assembly elections.
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Mr. Kailash Nath Nishad said in a press release that a team of the Nishad Sangh would campaign for the Samajwadi Party in the Jharkhand Assembly elections to be held from November 25.
Another organisation, the Pasmanda Muslim Samaj, representing the most backward Muslims, is holding an emergency meeting here on Thursday. The demand for representation of MBCs in Government services, organisations and commissions is expected to figure in the meeting to be chaired by the national president of Pasmanda Muslim Samaj, Anis Mansoori. Mr. Mansoori, who was accorded the status of a Minister of State, by the Chief Minister was among the 36 MoS who were stripped of their post in June this year.
A source in the Pasmanda Muslim Samaj has not ruled out the possibility of the organisation demanding representation in the Rajya Sabha.