The BJP which had decided against contesting the Kannauj Lok Sabha by-election made a u-turn at the eleventh hour to enter the fray but its candidate Jagdev Yadav failed to file his nomination papers, the deadline for which ended on Wednesday.
Yadav, who was declared the party candidate by the central leadership at the last minute could not reach the returning officer's office to file the papers which closed at the 3 PM deadline.
The BJP state election committee headed by state president Lakshmikant Bajpai and senior leaders like Lalji Tandon and Kalraj Mishra had on Tuesday decided not to field a candidate from Kannauj against SP candidate Dimple Yadav, wife of UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, citing local bodies polls as its priority.
Besides the SP candidate Dimple, only one candidate Dashrath Singh is in fray from Sanyukt Samajwadi Party.
The withdrawal of candidature could be made by June 8.
Dimple is set to win the seat as Congress and BSP have also not put up candidates.