Getting into early poll mode, Samajwadi Party came out with its first list of candidates for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections containing the names of its chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his daughter-in-law Dimple but leaves out Rae Bareli and Amethi.
“The party today releases its first list of 55 candidates for the coming elections, including 18 sitting MPs and MLAs, one minister and Speaker of the state Assembly,” party spokesman Ram Gopal Yadav told reporters in Lucknow.To questions whether SP would field its nominees in Rae Bareli and Amethi, Yadav said that so far 55 candidates have been decided and the party is yet to decide on the 25 remaining seats.
“We had also declared the nominees for the Vidhan Sabha polls in the state about an year before the due date as it helps even those candidates who are not very well off financially to reach out to the electorate”, Yadav said.
Reacting to it, Left leader Sitaram Yechury said that there are chances of mid-term polls but Congress ruled out its possibility.
Party leaders including I&B Minister Manish Tewari said the ruling coalition has been given a mandate for full five years till 2014 and it will complete its term.
The SP spokesman said that with the list being released, party nominees would be better placed to start preparations for the elections.
Other prominent names in the list include chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav, who is the sitting MP from Kannauj and his cousin and sitting MP from Badaun Dharmendra Yadav.
Ram Gopal Yadav’s son Akshay Yadav would contest from Firozabad from where Dimple Yadav had lost a by-election to Congress’ Raj Babbar.
Speaker of the state Assembly Mata Prasad Yadav would be contesting from Domariyaganj and former minister Ashok Bajpai from Lucknow.