Mayawati party not to field candidate for by-election seat

Lucknow: In an attempt to corner the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party has decided not to field its candidate in the by-election in Mohammadabad assembly segment in Ghazipur district where polling is scheduled for February 16.

The Mohammadabad seat had fallen vacant following the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai on November 29. Rai's murder, in which independent MLA Mukhtar Ansari is the main accused, had triggered a series of violent protests in eastern UP.

The main contestants in this high-profile by-election are Alka Rai, the widow of Krishnanand Rai, who is the BJP candidate, and Samajwadi Party's Shri Krishna.

Interestingly, Mukhtar Ansari, who is presently lodged in Ghazipur jail, has fielded his cousin, Mansoor Ansari, thereby giving a new twist to this political battle. The BSP, which had initially tried to woo the slain legislator's kin with assurances of a party ticket, has now decided to keep out of the fray in order to allow a straight fight between the SP and the BJP.

A senior BSP leader said "We will watch this game from a distance."

Political observers, however, feel that this is a shrewd move by the BSP to "corner and expose" the Samajwadi Party in Ghazipur.