Gupta's reluctance worries partymen

By J. P. Shukla

LUCKNOW, JAN. 24. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Ram Prakash Gupta, whose frailties have been a subject of discussion both within his own party and the Opposition, has given yet another cause for discomfiture to the BJP by declining to contest one of the eight Assembly byelections scheduled to take place on February 17.

``If Mr. Gupta is so afraid of contesting his own election, how will be can he be able to ensure the victory of his party during the general elections nearly two years away,'' is the question being asked by his critics. And the State BJP unit president, Mr. Om Prakash Singh, has been at pains to explain that the Chief Minister would fulfil the Constitutional requirement of entering either of the two Houses of the Legislature within six months of his having been sworn in. Mr. Singh has been forced to evade the main question whether Mr. Gupta would choose the soft option to contest a Council seat during the biennial elections scheduled for May.

Mr. Gupta's reluctance to face the electoral process showed that the BJP was in a bad shape, said Mr. Vivek Singh, Minister of State for Energy, belonging to the Loktantrik Congress Party. In this background, the LCP would have to examine afresh if it would be prudent for it to contest future elections in alliance with the BJP, he added.

The BJP partners have also been irked at the party's decision to contest seven of the eight seats, byelections to which are to take place next month. It has conceded only the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat to the Loktantrik Congress Party and the Unnao Assembly seat to the Jantantrki Bahujan Samaj Party. The names of seven candidates nominated to contest the rest of the Assembly seats have alreay been announced.

The LCP president, Mr. Naresh Agarwal, has said his party would not contest even the Kannauj seat under the present situation. He demanded at least two Assembly seats to its candidates. The JBSP has also been demanding two Assembly seats. The matter is likely to be taken up between the top leaders of the BJP and its allies.

The candidates nominated by the BJP are: Mr. Dharampal Singh (Thana Bhawan), Mr. Premchand Saini (Nakud), Mr. Chandrapal Singh (Shahabad), Mr. B. K. Gupta (Pilibhit), Mr. Brijesh Sharma (Pratapgarh), Mr. Janhavi Mani Tripathi (Gauri Bazar) and Mr. Ranjan Pal (Patiali).

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : 'Terrorists planned to abduct ex-Gujarat CM'
Next     : Pant seeks NRI investment