SP’s candidate reshuffle continues; Sunita Verma likely to replace Atul Pradhan in Meerut

The Samajwadi Party continues its candidate reshuffle ahead of the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, with its Meerut nominee Atul Pradhan likely to be replaced by Sunita Verma.

Polling in Meerut is scheduled in the second phase (April 26) and today is the last day for filing nominations. 

Verma, a former mayor, and her husband Yogesh Verma joined the SP in 2021 two years after they were expelled from the Bahujan Samaj Party.

The Akhilesh Yadav party had earlier fielded Bhanu Pratap Singh from Meerut, but later replaced him with Pradhan, the sitting MLA from Sardhana. According to reports, the decision followed unease among local party workers over ticket distribution.

The BJP has fielded Arun Govil, the actor who played Lord Ram in the popular Ramayana, from Meerut.

The SP, one of the formidable forces in the opposition INDIA bloc, has changed or renominated several candidates in Uttar Pradesh ever since the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party announced their candidates.

The party has replaced Dharmendra Yadav with Shivpal Yadav in Badaun. In Binjor, Yashvir Singh was the official SP candidate, but he was later replaced by Deepak Saini.

The SP changed its candidate in Gautam Budh Nagar and later made a U-turn. The party first fielded Dr Mahendra Nagar, but four days later it opted for Rahul Awana. However, it again changed its choice and decided to go with Dr Mahendra Nagar.