Akhilesh Yadav releases first list of 191 candidates, Shivpal to contest from Jaswantnagar

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Jan. 20 (ANI): The Samajwadi Party on Friday released its first list of 191 candidates for the first three phases of Uttar Pradesh assembly election polls. However, in a surprising development estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav manages to get a ticket to contest the election from Jaswantnagar constituency, Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad's name does not figure in the list of candidates. Arvind Singh Gop gets a ticket in place of Beni Prasad Verma's son Rakesh Verma. Naresh Agrawal's son, Nitin Agrawal, got a ticket from Hardoi, whereas Azam Khan's son Abdullah Azam will contest the election from Suar (Rampur). The Samajwadi Party is likely to contest the election independently if the Congress Party does not announce the alliance today. The party has taken this decision owing to the continuous delay of the Congress to clear its stand on the alliance for the upcoming poll. The Samajwadi Party has ruled out tie-up with the RLD, putting an end to speculations of a grand alliance emerging in Uttar Pradesh. The decision was taken in a six-hour meeting chaired by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had on January 17 announced an alliance with the Samajwadi Party for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls under the leadership of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav had also confirmed that the party will lock itself in a pre-poll alliance with the Congress. (ANI)