CM Yogi Adityanath to contest from Gorakhpur, Rajnath Singh's son Noida

Vibha Sharma

New Delhi, January 15

The BJP today fielded UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur (Urban) and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya from Sirathu in Prayagraj. Releasing the first list of 107 candidates, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said it was the party’s decision to field Adityanath from Gorakhpur.

Earlier, there were speculations that Adityanath, who will be contesting his first Assembly election, could be fielded from Ayodhya.

Sources say Adityanath has been fielded from Gorakhpur (Urban) as it is part of the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat which he had won five times.

Except for Adityanath and Maurya, all names are for 105 of the 113 seats which will go to the polls in the first two phases on February 10 and 14. The first list included members from all sections of society, Pradhan said, adding that of the 83 sitting MLAs, 63 had been repeated and 21 were new faces.

The party has fielded around 10 women candidates and also tried to negate the perception caused by exodus of OBC leaders by giving significant representation to the politically important caste bloc. Apart from 44 from the OBC communities, there are 19 SC candidates on the list, including one from a general category seat.

Key contestants

Prominent candidates include Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj Singh (Noida), Power Minister Shrikant Sharma (Mathura) and Uttarakhand ex-Governor Baby Rani Maurya (Agra Rural)

107 names on BJP’s first list for UP

• 44 OBC candidates figure on list
• 43 are from upper castes
• 19 belong to SC community
• 10 are women candidates
• 63 sitting MLAs repeated, 21 are new faces