After a decade, history is likely to be repeated in Uttar Pradesh after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as bypolls to several state assembly seats may be held as many sitting MLAs are in the fray. In 2014, as many as 14 Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs were elected to Lok Sabha. In 2024, besides other legislators, leader of opposition in UP assembly Akhilesh Yadav, who is MLA from Karhal, is seeking election to Lok Sabha from Kannauj.
As many as 15 legislators, including three ministers of the Yogi Adityanath government, are in the poll fray to enter the Lower House of Parliament. Bharatiya Janata Party Rajya Sabha member Neeraj Shekhar is also in the fray from Ballia. His Rajya Sabha term ends on November 25, 2026.
Besides the BJP, Samajwadi Party, Congress, Rashtriya Lok Dal and NISHAD Party have fielded their MLAs in Lok Sabha election. Though major parties are still in the process of finalising their candidates for all 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP, of the candidates announced so far, 13 are members of the legislative assembly and two are members of the legislative council.
BJP has fielded Tourism and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh of the Yogi government to contest the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat against Dimple Yadav, sitting MP and wife of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and daughter-in-law of SP founder late Mulayam Singh Yadav. Jaiveer, who was elected to the state assembly from Mainpuri in the 2022 elections, now faces the challenge of hoisting the BJP flag in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency.
Anoop Pradhan Valmiki, the Minister of State for Revenue in the Yogi government, is BJP candidate from Hathras reserved seat. Anoop Valmiki is MLA from Khair reserved seat in Aligarh district. Similarly, Ghaziabad MLA Atul Garg is the BJP candidate for Ghaziabad Lok Sabha seat.
In Nagina reserved Lok Sabha seat currently held by Bahujan Samaj Party, BJP has placed its bets on its MLA Om Kumar, who was elected from Nahtaur reserved assembly constituency in Bijnor district. Praveen Patel, MLA from Phulpur assembly constituency in Prayagraj district is contesting as a BJP candidate from Phulpur Lok Sabha seat.
One MLA each from RLD and NISHAD Party, who are part of BJP’s allies, are also in the fray. RLD has fielded its MLA Chandan Chauhan, from Bijnor Lok Sabha seat. He was elected to the UP assembly from Meerapur seat in Muzaffarnagar district.
NISHAD Party’s MLA from Majhwan seat in Mirzapur district, Dr Vinod Kumar Bind, is the BJP candidate from Bhadohi Lok Sabha seat.
The SP has also fielded five of its MLAs in the Lok Sabha elections. Leading from the front is SP president and leader of the opposition Akhilesh Yadav, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Kannauj.
SP has fielded Ravidas Mehrotra, MLA from Lucknow Central assembly seat, from Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency to contest against Defence Minister Rajnath Singh of the BJP.
Another SP MLA, Awadhesh Prasad, who represents Milkipur reserved seat in the Assembly, is contesting against the sitting BJP MP Lallu Singh from Faizabad Lok Sabha seat in Ayodhya. SP has also given its ticket to Katehari MLA Lalji Verma from Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha seat. Ziaur Rahman, SP MLA from Kundarki in Moradabad district, is party candidate from Sambhal Lok Sabha seat.
Congress MLA from Farenda, Virendra Chaudhary, is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Maharajganj.
The two members of the UP Legislative Council contesting the parliamentary elections are BJP’s Jitin Prasada and Bhimrao Ambedkar of the BSP. Jitin Prasada’s tenure as a member of the Legislative Council ends on September 26, 2027.
BSP has fielded its legislative council member Bhimrao Ambedkar from Hardoi seat Lok Sabha seat. His term in the legislative council ends on May 5.
