Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Friday released the list of party nominees on all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state giving about one third of the total tickets to upper castes and fielding several candidates of criminal background.
While Mayawati is not contesting the Lok Sabha polls, the BSP UP chief Swami Prasad Maurya has been made party candidate from Kushinagar seat.
Fresh from party's success in the 2007 Assembly polls in the state that was achieved by forging a formidable Dalit-Brahmin combination, the BSP has given more than one third of the total tickets to upper castes.
Of the total 80 seats, 20 tickets go to Brahmins, while six tickets have been given to Thakur candidates.
Muslim candidates have been fielded in 14 constituencies and Schedule Caste has got a share of 22 seats.
The party has fielded at least 10 sitting members of the outgoing Lok Sabha though they were elected last time on different party tickets.
Candidates with criminal background who have got tickets include DP Yadav from Badaun, Mukhtar Ansari from Varanasi, his elder brother Afzal Ansari from Ghazipur, Dhananjay Singh from Jaunpur and Arun Shanker Shukla alias Anna from Unnao.
Mayawati has refused to give ticket to BSP sitting member and Umakant Yadav, who also has a criminal background, from Machlishahar seat.
Buniyad Ansari, who was earlier the party candidate from Sitapur, has also been replaced by Kaiser Jahan, wife of a BSP MLA.
In the list, tickets have been given to wives of three legislators, including Jahan, wife of BSP MLA Jasmeer Ansari, Rajkumari Chauhan, spouse of state Minister Jaiveer Singh from Aligarh and Seema Upadhaya, wife of state Power Minister Ramveer Upadhaya from Fatehpur Sikri.
Five sitting MLAs of the BSP in the state Assembly are also contesting Lok Sabha polls in the state.
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