Lok Sabha Polls: BSP Releases Its First List of 16 Candidates

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) unveiled its inaugural list of 16 candidates on Sunday for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, primarily focusing on the western region of Uttar Pradesh.

Among the candidates announced in the initial list are Majid Ali for Saharanpur, Shripal Singh for Kairana, and Dara Singh Prajapati for Muzaffarnagar. Vijendra Singh will represent the party in Bijnor, Surendra Pal Singh in Nagina (SC), and Mohammad Irfan Saifi in Moradabad.

In Rampur, Zeeshan Khan has secured the BSP ticket, while Shaulat Ali will contest from Sambhal, Mujahid Hussain from Amroha, and Devvratt Tyagi from Meerut.

The BSP has nominated Praveen Bansal for Baghpat, Rajendra Singh Solanki for Gautam Buddh Nagar, Girish Chandra Jatav for Bulandshahr (SC), Abid Ali for Aonla, Anis Ahmad Khan for Pilibhit, and Dodaram Verma for Shahjahanpur (SC).

In January this year, the BSP leader asserted that the party would not form any alliances and would independently participate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. She criticized Akhilesh Yadav, with whom the party had formed an alliance in the 2019 polls.

“We will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls independently,” she reiterated, dispelling rumors of potential alliances with other parties in Uttar Pradesh.

These clarifications followed widespread speculation, fueled by media reports, suggesting a possible alliance between the BSP and members of the I.N.D.I.A bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party. Despite these rumors, the BSP leader consistently denied any intentions of forming alliances, reiterating her stance on multiple occasions.