Half a dozen ministers from the Yogi cabinet set to contest Lok Sabha elections

New Delhi, Jul 27: If some of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Members of Parliament will not be given Lok Sabha tickets in the 2019 elections for many considerations then some of the ministers in the Uttar Pradesh government will be fielded as the Lok Sabha candidates. Such leaders who have the potential of winning Lok Sabha seats will make it to the list of BJP candidates for Lok Sabha.

Sources said that the BJP may field some of the ministers in the Yogi cabinet as Lok Sabha candidates. Women, child and family welfare minister and MLA from Lucknow Rita Bahuguna Joshi, power minister Srikant Sharma, law minister Brijesh Pathak, minister for industrial development Satish Mahana, forest and environment minister Dara Singh Chauhan, health minister Sidhdharth Nath Singh and Speaker in the UP Assembly Hriday Narayan Dikshit are some names on which the party is serious to field for the Lok Sabha.

Senior leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi may be fielded either Lucknow or even from Phoolpur constituency, Srikant Sharma may get the chance from Mathura Lok Sabha constituency as he is an MLA from Mathura as well, Satish Mahana may get to contest from Kanpur constituency who was eying this seat from very long, Dara Singh Chauhan to get ticket from Ghoshi or any other constituency in Porrvanchal as he will impact many constituency for popularity. He may be given a seat of his own choice, Hriday Narayan Dikshit may get ticket from Unnao, and Sidharth Nath Singh from Allahabad constituency.

The party plans to cut tickets of 30 to 40 per cent MPs in the Lok Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. The BJP is planning to deny tickets to such leaders who have crossed 75 years of age or their performance is not up to the mark. Party leaders whose tickets are in limbo included former BJP president Murali Manohar Joshi, former Union MSME minister in the Modi cabinet Kalraj Mishra, Mathura MP Hema Malini, Union cabinet minister and MP from Jhansi Uma Bharati, Etawah MP Ashok Kumar Dohre, Sant Kabir Nagar MP Sharat Tripathi, MP from Allahabad (North) Shyama Charan Gupta, Doomariaganj MP Jagdambika Pal and Choudhary Babulal of Fatehpur Sikri.

A few more are likely to be in the list as certain big name from Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party are in touch with the BJP leaders to join the party. Some big names may also join the BJP.