The Samajwadi Party has announced its candidate for the by-election in the Meerapur Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh. The party has selected Sumbul Rana to contest from this constituency in western Uttar Pradesh.
Previously, the Samajwadi Party had announced its candidates for six other seats: Karhal (Mainpuri), Sisamau (Kanpur Nagar), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Katehari (Ambedkarnagar), Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Majhawan (Mirzapur).
On Thursday evening, the party revealed Sumbul Rana as its seventh candidate through a social media post as part of its second list. The first list had included six candidates.
However, the Samajwadi Party has yet to announce candidates for the Ghaziabad and Khair Assembly seats. These two seats are being sought by the Congress party under the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). It remains unclear which seats will be allocated to Congress within the alliance.
On Tuesday, the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the Assembly by-elections in Uttar Pradesh. Voting will occur on November 13, and the results will be declared on November 23, alongside the results for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has requested the Election Commission to postpone the election dates. The BJP has sent a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh, stating that many people will leave to participate in the Kartik Purnima bathing festival two to three days in advance, resulting in a significant number of voters being unable to cast their ballots.