BJP ignores veteran Shyamdeo Roy Chaudhary in Kashi

VARANASI: Bharatiya Janata Party will contest the Assembly election without veteran sitting MLAs Shyamdeo Roy Chaudhary and Jyotsana Srivastava. The party has declared candidates for five seats, leaves three for alliance partner Apna Dal (Anupriya).
Seven-time sitting MLA from City South seat Shyamdeo Roy Chaudhary has been denied ticket by the BJP to field a young face Neelkath Tiwari to contest the election.BJP denied ticket to Jyotsana but fielded her son Saurabh Srivastava. Turncoat MLA Udaylal Maurya, who joined BJP with Swami Prasad Maurya, have been overlooked for another turncoat Anil Rajbhar at Shivpur seat. By declaring Surendra Narain Audhey as its candidate from Rohania, BJP has hinted to spare Sevapuri, Ajgara and Pindra seats for alliance partner Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal.
Reacting over party’s decision, Chaudhary said, “I haven’t received any communication from party to know why I have been overlooked. If it has been done on the basis of age, the party had already fielded many candidates who are older than me.” Chaudhary has been replaced by Neelkanth Tiwari, who had been a student union office-bearer and also the president of Central Bar Association of Varanasi. Tiwari’s candidature is surprising for even senior BJP leaders of east UP region as Dayashankar Mishra, who had given tough contest to Chaudhary in 2012 election as Congress candidate and later joined BJP, was being considered as front runner in the race for the party ticket.
Chaudhary had kept City South assembly seat as safe castle for the party for seven elections since 1989. But violent protests in the dispute of idol immersion in 2015 in which Congress had taken lead by joining hands with seers had increased the challenges at this seat.
Long list of claimants for BJP ticket is being termed as the major reason for party’s decision to bank on Srivastava family on Cantonment seat. Jyotsana had been MLA from this seat in 1991 and `93. In 1996 and 2002, her husband late Harishchandra Srivastava had bagged the seat. But, in 2007 and 2012 Jyotsana again won this seat. In view of the possibility of denial of ticket to her by BJP, more than 30 aspirants joined the race for ticket from this seat. Only the sitting MLA Ravindra Jaiswal from City North seat managed to retain his ticket.
BJP also surprised many by keeping Rohaniya seat with it. In 2012 AD’s Anupriya Patel had won this seat. But after winning parliamentary election from Mirzapur, she spared the seat for mother Krishna Patel, who lost 2014 by-election to Samajwadi Party’s Mahendra Patel. By declaring a candidate for this seat BJP has made it clear to spare Sevapuri, Ajgara and Pindra seats for Anupriya led AD.
Udaylal Maurya failed to get BJP ticket from Shivpur seat, which he had won as Bahujan Samaj Party candidate in 2012. The party preferred Anil Rajbhar, who had been in Samajwadi Party in the past. Udyalal’s brother and former BSP MP Anil Maurya succeeded in getting BJP ticket from Ghoraval seat in Sonebhadra district.
In Mirzapur, Anurag Singh, son of veteran leader and former minister Om Prakash Singh, succeeded in getting ticket from Chunar. Getting advantage of being the purohit of home minister Rajnath Singh, a senior priest of Vindhyachal temple Ratnakar Mishra has also got the BJP ticket to contest from Mirzapur Assembly seat. At Aurai (SC) seat in Bhadohi, BJP has fielded another turncoat Dinanath Bhaskar, who had been in BSP in the past.