UP Assembly polls: Rashtriya Lok Dal releases second list of candidates

A day after announcing to contest all 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) on Saturday released its second list of 35 candidates including BJP MP Hukum Singh’s nephew.

The list features crucial assembly constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh such as Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Dadri, Jewar, Bulandshahr and Agra Rural.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and Kairana MP Hukum Singh’s nephew Anil Chahuhan joined the Ajit Singh-led RLD with the party approving his name from Kairana constituency in Shamli.

“Yes, Anil Chahuhan has joined Rashtriya Lok Dal and he will fight from Kairana,” a party official told PTI.

Chahuhan, along with Hukum Singh’s daughter, was apparently trying to get a ticket from the BJP.

Among those who have made it to the second list include Payal Maheshwatri from Muzaffarnagar, Rahul Chaudhary from Bijnor, Anju Muskan from Hapur, Ayyub Ali from Garhmukteshwar, Ravindar Bhati from Dadri, Kamal Sharma from Jewar, Manjit Singh from Agra Rural, according to an official party release.

Candidates for Thana Bhawan, Charthawal, Purqazi, Meerapur, Hastinapur, Kithore, Muradnagar, Hapur, Garhmukteshwar, Sikandrabad, Anupshahr, Shikarpur, Khair, Barauli, Igias, Sadabad, Mant, Ehtmadpur, Agra Rural seats have also been declared.

RLD also announced its nominees from Najibabad, Nehtaur, Bijnor, Chandpur, Kanth Bilari, Naugawan Sadat, Pilibhit, Barkhera which will go to polls during the phase-II of the election on February 15.

It also announced Aishwarya Raj Singh as its Basti Sadar MLA candidate where election will be held during the phase-V on February 27.

Eight of the total 35 candidates announced in the second list are women, according to the release.

Having failed to strike a deal with the Samajwadi Party or Congress, RLD on Friday announced that it will contest all the 403 assembly seats in UP in alliance with JD-U and 10 smaller parties before releasing its first list of eight candidates for the upcoming hustings.

UP will go for polls in seven phases beginning February 11. The last date for filing nominations for the 73 seats which will go to polls in the first phase is January 24. The election results will be out on March 11.