UP Phase 3 today crucial for ‘dons’
The third phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh, polling for which will be held on Wednesday, will be crucial for jailed “dons” who are contesting from behind bars.
Elections in the third phase will be held on 56 Assembly seats spread across 10 districts, including Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar (Amethi), Sultanpur, Kaushambhi, Allahabad, Jaunpur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Mirzapur and Sonebhadra.
Jailed dons whose fate will be tested in this phase include dreaded gangster Brijesh Singh, who is lodged in Ahmedabad jail and is contesting the Syedraza seat in Chandauli.
Brijesh, arrested in 2008 from Orissa, is contesting as a candidate of the Pragatisheel Manav Samaj Party and his wife and daughter have campaigned for him.
Vijay Misra, an SP MLA who is lodged in Meerut jail as an accused in the bomb attack on BSP minister Nand Gopal Nandi in 2010, is seeking re-election from Gyanpur in Sant Ravidas Nagar on a Samajwadi ticket. He is behind bars and his campaign is being run by his wife.
Another dreaded gangster, Munna Bajrangi, who is lodged in Tihar jail, is contesting the Mandiyahu seat in Jaunpur and his band of over 500 supporters are supervising his campaign.
Ateeq Ahmad, an Apna Dal candidate from Allahabad West, has spent several years in jail on charges of the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal. A former SP MP, Ateeq was shown the door from the Samajwadi Party after his name figured in the murder case and he now plans to return to power again.
Dr Jagriti Singh, wife of BSP MP Dhananjay Singh who was lodged in jail in a double murder case in Jaunpur jail, is contesting from Malhani seat in Jaunpur district as an Independent candidate and her husband has been supervising the campaign from inside the jail.
Incidentally, the third phase is also crucial for the BSP which had won 31 out of the 56 seats in this phase in 2007.
The party faces the challenge of retaining these seats in order to retain its position in state politics. A number of BSP ministers, including Inderjit Saroj, Vinod Singh and Nand Gopal Nandi, are contesting in this phase.
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