The Samajwadi Party has declared Maharaji Prajapati, the wife of jailed former minister Gayatri Prajapati, as the candidate from Amethi. Gayatri Prajapati was the influential minister in the Akhilesh Yadav's party, SP and he was arrested in March 2017 on charges of corruption and rape.
In the new list of candidates, the SP fielded BSP rebel Hakim Chandra Bind from Handia and Madhuri Verma from Nanpara in Bahraich. The list is dominated by non-Yadav OBC and Dalit candidates.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India announced the voting dates for the Assembly polls of Uttar Pradesh. The UP will hold elections in 7 phases to elect 403 members of the Legislative Assembly in the state. The seven-phase election in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, and March 3 and 7.