Lucknow, Apr 16: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh filed his nomination papers from Lucknow on April 16.
During the nomination of the BJP candidates, several ministers and BJP office bearers including Union Minister of State Hansraj Ahir, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma were present. Former prime minister Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Bajpai was elected five times from Lucknow parliamentary seat from 1991 to 2004 and after his retirement Lalji tandan carried the legacy in 2009. In 2014 Rajnath Singh shifted from Ghaziabad to Lucknow and won the seat by a margin of around 3 lakh votes. The BJP has won the Lucknow seat continuously since 1991; Atal Bihari Vajpayee represented the constituency from 1991 to 2009, until he retreated from active politics. Meanwhile, the Congress party has also not announced a candidate from the capital of the 80-seat state, where it is attempting a revival by bringing in heavy-duty leaders like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia to lead its campaign. Nominations to close in two days for Lucknow, where voting will take place on May 6.