By IANS,
Lucknow: A list of 62 candidates released by the Congress for the 2012 state assembly elections includes a ‘Mayawati’ too.
Once a Bahujan Samajwadi Party member, she is not the only one in the list to have switched loyalties. Twenty-four others have come to the Congress from other parties.
Interestingly, this Mayawati alias Maya Prasad also belongs to the scheduled caste and has been, therefore, contesting from the reserved constituency of Srinagar in Lakhimpur-Kheri district, about 150 km from here.
She won from this constituency on a BSP ticket in 2003 and was also made a minister. However, on being denied a ticket in 2007 on grounds of anti-party activities, she switched over to the Congress.
Mayawati’s husband, Rameshwar Prasad, a block development officer (BDO) in the state, had also contested an assembly election from Mohammadi constituency on a BSP ticket, but lost.
Like Mayawati, there are as many as 24 others in this list who have crossed over to the Congress from other political parties.
The Congress leadership’s clear preference for both scheduled castes and upper caste Thakurs was visible in the list. Besides the 17 reserved constituencies, the party has fielded scheduled caste candidates from three general constituencies as well.
Likewise, Thakurs have been given precedence over Brahmins. As against 11 Thakurs in the list, there were only two Brahmins.
It reflects the increasing dominance of All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Digvijay Singh, who is entrusted with the special charge of the party affairs in UP.
Asked to comment on the composition of the list, the second to be released by the AICC, state party president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said: “It would be too early and premature to jump to conclusions on the basis of just two lists comprising a total of 135 candidates in a state where as many as 402 candidates have to be selected.”