Delimitation causes flutter among LS aspirants in UP

Lucknow: Delimitation has created a flutter among the Lok Sabha aspirants in Uttar Pradesh so much so that almost every political leader and every party is scrambling for the change in the candidates and constituencies.

Such is the dilemma for even the sitting MPs that many of them are looking for new and 'safe' constituencies and some of them have even changed the party.

UP would have the most difficult task cut out for the political parties to decide the future politics of the country.

The fresh redraw of the constituencies has upset the caste and religion equations, which normally rule the hustings, forcing members to shift to other regions, states and even parties.

The new scenario would force many sitting MPs to change their constituencies- though reluctantly.

There were two alliances in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh- between the Samajwadi Party and Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) when Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party had left 10 seats for RLD.

Between BJP and JD(U) the former had fielded its candidate on 77 seats leaving three for JD(U).

SP had emerged as the biggest party in the state with 35 out of total 80 seats followed by BSP - 19, BJP-10, Congress - 9,RLD -3 SJP (Chandra Shekhar), JD(U) and NLP - one each and one Independent.

After the death of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekar, his son Neeraj Shekar was elected from Ballia parliamentary constituency.

BJP heavyweight Kalyan Singh who left his old party, shifted his winning seat from Bulandshahar to Etah simply because his last constituency has been made reserved.

Ashok Pradhan, the former BJP minister and another BJP candidate was shifted to Bulandshahar from his stronghold of Khurja(SC) seat.

BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi has abandoned his traditional Allahabad seat to contest from Varanasi this time as the fresh delimitation saw one Assmebly segment-Allahabad North, which boasted of his support group from Allahabad University, is now in Phoolpur constituency.

In other words, the Allahabad Parliamentary constituency has assumed more rural flavour than what it used to be as an urban conglomerate.