Samajwadi Party has announced the names of its two candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections to be held in Uttar Pradesh. The party has agreed to field Professor Ram Gopal Yadav and former Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan as candidates. At the same time, the name of Salim Sherwani has also been discussed for the third seat.
Tezzbuzz Desk – Samajwadi Party announced the names of two candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections in the meeting of its MLAs on Monday. The first name is that of senior party leader and current Rajya Sabha member Professor Ram Gopal Yadav, while the second name is that of former Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan. Alok Ranjan has also been considered the strategist of Akhilesh Yadav.
There was also discussion in the meeting about fielding a third candidate. During this time, the name of Salim Sherwani was also considered, but no consensus could be reached on his name. Regarding the third candidate, Akhilesh Yadav said, “First bring the MLAs, then we will see.”
Actually, elections are to be held for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. In the current situation, eight of these seats are with BJP and two seats are with Samajwadi Party. In such a situation, the possible strategy of SP to field a third candidate has made the elections interesting. The party has said that discussions have been held with all the members regarding the elections and the public is going to get a big surprise.
In the meeting of SP MLAs, it was agreed to send Ram Gopal Yadav to Rajya Sabha again. Apart from this, consent was also given on the name of former IAS officer Alok Ranjan. The name of Salim Sherwani was once again discussed, but a final consensus could not be reached. Along with Salim Sherwani, Alok Ranjan has also lost in the last election.
expected to be a tough competition
The competition is expected to be tough in the elections for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. BJP is in a position to win seven seats on its own, while Samajwadi Party has enough numerical strength to get two seats.
SP is now trying to field candidates for the third seat also. For this, the party will need the support of MLAs other than its existing numerical strength.
What is the mathematics of Rajya Sabha elections?
There are currently 397 members in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. In such a situation, a candidate will need about 37 first-preference votes to win. Samajwadi Party has 101 MLAs. If two Congress MLAs also join SP, then the opposition camp will have a total of 103 MLAs.
Based on this number, the required votes for the two SP candidates can be easily completed and about 25 additional votes can be left. Based on these additional votes, SP is considering the strategy of fielding a third candidate.
However, to ensure victory for the third candidate, SP will have to garner support outside its camp also. In such a situation, political activities regarding the third seat in the Rajya Sabha elections are likely to intensify in the coming days.