Seven UP MLAs face a crucial test in Lok Sabha polls

Lucknow: Seven legislators of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly will face a crucial test in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

These MLAs have been fielded for the Lok Sabha elections by their respective parties.

The Samajwadi Party, till now, has fielded five MLAs for the Lok Sabha polls while the BJP and RLD one legislator each.

The SP has fielded its senior most leader Shivpal Yadav from Budaun. Shivpal is MLA from Jaswantnagar in Etawah.

Budaun is considered a safe seat with four lakh Yadav voters and 3.5 lakh Muslim voters – both considered as SP's vote bank.

The sitting MP in Budaun is BJP's Sanghmitra Maurya, daughter of Swami Prasad Maurya. Her candidature is yet undecided, mainly because of her father's shifting political loyalties and his statements against Sanatan Dharm.

In Sambhal, the SP has fielded Ziaur-Rehman Barq, who is SP MLA from Moradabad. The sitting MP from Sambhal was SP's Shafiqur-Rehman Barq who passed away recently and Ziaur-Rehman is his grandson.

The Samajwadi Party has fielded Lalji Varma from Ambedkar Nagar. Varma is presently the party MLA from the assembly segment of the same name. He will be challenging Ritesh Pandey, former BSP MP who is now the BJP candidate form this constituency.

In Faizabad, SP MLA from Milkipur, Avadhesh Prasad, is the party candidate. He will challenge BJP’s Lallu Singh who is seeking a third term in Lok Sabha.

The SP has chosen its senior MLA Ravidas Mehrotra to contest the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat against union defence minister Rajnath Singh.

Though a veteran politician, he is considered a light weight for this prestigious seat.

The BJP, on the other hand, has fielded its MLA Om Kumar form the Nagina (reserved) seat. He will be challenged by Manoj Kumar of SP and Chandra Shekhar Azad of Azad Samaj Party.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal has named its MLA Chandan Chauhan from the Bijnor Lok Sabha seat. Chauhan is MLA from Mirapur assembly seat in Muzaffarnagar and he will be challenged by Yashvir Singh of SP.

According to political analysts, parties feel that they are at a lower risk if they field sitting MLAs for Lok Sabha polls.

"Those who have won polls already have their network in place and find it easier to contest parliamentary polls," said a senior SP leader.

The Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases -- April 19 to June 1 -- and results will be declared on June 4.