More than three weeks after News18 reported about a possibility of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi’s son Mayank switching over to the Samajwadi Party (SP), Mayank met SP chief and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday.
The SP chief tweeted the picture, fueling fresh speculations.
Although SP chief Akhilesh Yadav termed it “courtesy meet”, sources in the SP claim his formal switch is now just a matter of time.
The BJP MP’s son was reportedly upset as he was not given a ticket from Lucknow Cantonment. Mayank’s meeting comes just a day before the voting in Lucknow. Earlier, Joshi had denied all reports of her son switching over to the SP.
The BJP has fielded minister Brajesh Pathak from Lucknow Cantonment seat. Joshi had won the 2017 assembly elections from Lucknow Cantt, and, later, when she became the MP, the seat fell vacant. BJP’s Suresh Tiwari then became the MLA.
When Aparna Yadav joined the BJP, there were speculations that she might be fielded from Lucknow Cantt, as she had bagged around 60,000 votes from the constituency on an SP ticket in 2017.
The issue of Lucknow Cantt seat snowballed when Joshi openly said her son “deserves” it. The BJP MP even said, if required, she can tender resignation for her son. Incumbent BJP MLA Suresh Tiwari, however, has said he “deserves to be fielded again”.
Eight of the nine assembly seats in Lucknow went to the BJP in 2017. All nine assembly seats of Lucknow, including Bakshi Ka Talab, Sarojini Nagar, Lucknow West, Lucknow East, Lucknow Central, Lucknow North, Mohanlalganj (Reserve), Malihabad and Lucknow Cantonment, have gone to polls today in the fourth phase on February 23. The counting will be done on March 10.
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