Rule BJP Party sources said that in the biennial elections to be held on June 20, at least seven ministers of the Yogi Adityanath government will nominate to the UP Legislative Council so that they can continue as ministers.
Last week, the Election Commission had notified biennial elections to Legislative Councils to fill seats for members who would retire on July 6.
Of the 13 members to retire, six are from Samajwadi Party (SP), three each from BJP and BSP and one from Congress.
To be elected to the Upper House, each candidate of the Council needs to get the votes of at least 29 MLAs, the BJP can elect nine of its candidates, while the SP four.
The Congress and the BSP, which have only two and one MLA, are unlikely to field their candidates.
“The BJP has decided to elect seven ministers. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Panchayati Raj Minister Bhupendra Singh Choudhary will be on the list as their membership of the Legislative Council expires on July 6. There are five other ministers – JPS Rathore, Dayashankar Mishra “Dayalu”, Narendra Kashyap, Jashwant Saini and Danish Azad Ansari – who are not members of either House. He will also be given MLC seats to continue as a minister,” said a BJP leader.
“For the remaining two seats, the party is considering the names of some dedicated workers who can be given a chance,” the leader said.
The BJP has already secured a majority in the Legislative Council with its 66 members and one each from its two allies – Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Nishad Party. This election will increase the strength of BJP in the House.
After the election, the Congress will not have any member in the Legislative Council. The tenure of its lone MLC Deepak Singh ends in July.
As per the polling schedule, June 9 is the last date for filing nominations and June 20 is the date for voting and counting.