Yogi Adityanath to lead UP campaign

New Delhi/ Lucknow: Yogi Adityanath is among the three senior leaders who will steer the party’s campaign for the September 13 bypolls to 11 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha

seat. UP BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpai, Union minister Kalraj Mishra have

also been nominated to lead the campaign. —

There is trouble in BJP’s paradise in Uttar Pradesh and factionalism has returned to haunt the party leadership.

The announcement of party tickets to candidates for byelections has opened up the proverbial Pandora’s Box in the party.

BJP workers in Mainpuri staged demonstrations and burnt effigies to register their protest against the nomination of Prem Singh Shakya as the party candidate .

BJP workers, who had wanted former BJP MP Ramakant Yadav to challenge the Samajwadi Party candidate and Mulayam Singh’s grandnephew Tej Pratap Yadav on this prestigious seat, now allege that by fielding Prem Singh Shakya, a brick kiln owner, the party has given a smooth walkover to the Samajwadi Party.

In Bijnore, supporters of BJP MP Bhartendu and an aspirant Rajendra Singh clashed in full pub- lic view and vowed to defeat the official candidate Hemendra Pal Singh.

In Saharanpur, BJP workers are upset with the candidate Rajiv Gomber, a transporter, who is contesting his first election and factionalism was moiré than evident when Gomber field his nomination on Wednesday in the absence of senior local leaders.

In Nighasan ( Lakhimpur), supporters of BJP MP Ajay Teni are opposing the official candidate Ram Kumar Varma. “He has been inactive in politics since the past several years and he was also an accused in the murder of a Lucknow lawyer Indra Dev Singh which has sullied his image. We do not know on what basis the party has nominated him for the byelection,” said a supporter of the BJP MP.

In Lucknow, the nomination of Gopal Tandon has also caused considerable heartburn in other party camps.

Geeta Singh, who has been named as the BJP candidate on the Charkhari Assembly seat, is a political novice who has never participated in political events. She is contesting her first election.

“We do not know why she has been named a candidate when she does not even know the basics of politics. The party leadership is committing harakiri by nominating such candidates,” said a BJP leader who was also in the race for a ticket.

Meanwhile, a party veteran admitted that factionalism was, once again, rearing its head after the LS elections.