Samajwadi Party candidates Ravidas Mehrotra and RK Chowdhary filed their nomination papers from Lucknow and Mohanlalganj Lok Sabha constituencies respectively amidst the enthusiastic support of their party members on Wednesday.
Twelve nomination papers were filed on Wednesday, nine for the Lucknow constituency, two for Mohanlalganj Lok Sabha seat, and one for the Lucknow East assembly seat.
Both SP candidates arrived in a cavalcade of cars along with party members wearing the trademark red caps and waiving their party’s flags. The party members raised slogans of “Victory to the Samajwadi Party” as the candidates walked down to the Collectorate where a large number of advocates present there also extended their support to the SP candidates.
Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Mehrotra, while addressing the media at the venue said, “Modi can only provide the guarantee of increase in unemployment and increase in inflation. In the name of electoral bonds, the Bharatiya Janata Party has only looted the general public. We are not afraid of the cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate and raids carried out by the Income Tax Department. We have gone to jail several times and we have struggled with the issues of the public and hence the general public is supporting us.”
He said that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, unlike him, did not tour the city while filing his nomination papers and was accompanied by outsiders during the exercise.
“However I have taken a tour of Hazratganj, Lalbagh, Kaiserbagh, Nazirabad, Aminabad, Gwynne Road before coming to file my nomination and have got an overwhelming response from the public. We are the face of the public because we have fought for the public for the last 49 years. Rajnath Singh is claiming that he will win by five lakh votes and we will break his pride,” he said.
Mehrotra stated that Rajnath Singh is in power for the last ten years but he has never been with the people in the times of their needs. “He was not present during the last rites of two of his own MLAs who passed away recently, what can we expect him to do for the general public,” he added.
Ravidas Mehrotra said that when he had come to file his nomination papers in the 2022 Vidhan Sabha assembly election, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak had fled from his constituency of Lucknow Central.
The SP candidate promised that if he wins the election, a government school will be opened in every mohalla, every poor woman will get Rs 8,500 per month and one lakh rupee annually. “We will give employment to the youth and fill the 30 lakh vacant posts of the Government of India,” he added.
Mehrotra has disclosed movable assets worth Rs 62.1 lakh and immovable property worth Rs 56.3 lakh.
RK Chowdhary said that the country was in a dire strait under the Bharatiya Janata Party government. “The farmer is worried, the youth is worried. The Constitution and reservation are in danger. The entire country is mismanaged and has to be managed properly,” he said.
Chowdhary said that he would work on electricity connections, water and roads in the Mohanlalganj constituency if elected. “The support of the people is evident from their presence in large numbers at my nomination exercise,” he added.
When asked if Kaushal Kishore has done some work in Mohanlalganj, he said that the public alone could speak about this. He said that he had won elections several times but this time he felt that there was a wave in support of the Samajwadi Party.
Chowdhary has disclosed movable property worth Rs 34.3 lakh and immovable property worth Rs 2.4 crore.
Advocate Pankaj Singh from the Voters Party who practices in the Lucknow civil court filed his nomination for the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency.
Pankaj Singh, who fought the Vidhan Sabha election in 2022, said that he was unfazed by the fact that he was standing opposite Rajnath Singh. “If I win I will get the Advocate Protection Act implemented and will start a pension scheme for advocates. I will make education and health free for the citizens,” he said.
Sushil Kumar from the Bahujan Mukti Party also filed his nomination for the Mohanlalganj Lok Sabha constituency. He has immovable property worth Rs 55,689.
Avinash Chandra Jain, a businessman and an independent from Niralanagar, filed his nomination for the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency. “The elections this time will be unique and it is my guarantee that I will reduce inflation after winning the election if the people give me a chance,” he said. Jain said that he fought the election last time in 2019.
Yugini Neelam, yet another candidate who came to file her nomination papers for the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency, captured the attention of all present with her shimmering outfit and glossy make-up. She said that she was fighting the election for the first time. A former employee of the Irrigation department, she said that she left her government job to serve the people.
Nandini Ranjan filed nomination papers for the Lucknow East assembly bypoll.
Others who filed their nominations for the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency included independent candidates Akhand Pratap Singh, Vivek Kumar Jha, Ishtiaq Ali, Shalini Asthana from the Bhartiya Sarv Dharam Party, Manish Maurya from Bhartiya Nav Kranti Party and Neelam Sharma from Rashtriya Udai Party.
