Lucknow: An electoral understanding with the Samajwadi Party may bring the promise of a Rajya Seat, but the BSP is still undecided on a potential candidate. One man who has ruled himself out of the race is party supremo Mayawati’s brother Anand Kumar.
“All these rumours about me being a Rajya Sabha candidate are false. Some people are spreading these rumours just to increase their TRP,” Kumar, who is also the party’s vice-president, said.
Mayawati had resigned from the Rajya Sabha in a huff last year, accusing the Chair of not allowing her to speak on atrocities against Dalits. She had then appointed her brother to the second-most important position in the party. Speculation was rife that the move was aimed at sending Kumar to the Upper House of Parliament.
Declaring her support for the Samajwadi Party candidates for Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls, Mayawati had said, “Right now we don’t have sufficient numbers for the Rajya Sabha, but if the Samajwadi Party will support us then we are going to support their candidate in MLC electiions.”
“On Congress, I want to be clear that if the Congress wants our vote for Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh, then they have to vote for our candidate in Uttar Pradesh,” she had said.
Samajwadi Party, BSP and the Congress can together send two candidates to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. The BSP has 19 seats, the SP has 47 and the Congress has six. After the SP ensures the entry of one of its candidates to the Rajya Sabha, it will be left with nearly 14 spare votes. Adding to the BSP’s tally, this can ensure the entry of one Mayawati candidate to the Upper House.
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