Congress to contest all 11 graduates, teachers constituencies in UP Legislative Council polls

Lucknow, Oct 10 (PTI) The Congress on Friday announced that it will field candidates for all 11 seats -- five graduates' and six teachers' constituencies -- in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections scheduled for next year.

The party also named five potential candidates and indicated that it plans to go solo in the polls.

In a statement, state Congress chief Ajay Rai said the party aims to amplify the voices of the youth and teachers in the Council. To achieve this, the party has begun registering five lakh graduate and two lakh teacher voters.

Rai said the potential candidates are being appointed as coordinators for each seat.

Currently, five coordinators have been named, and these are Vikrant Vashishtha for the Meerut-Saharanpur Graduate seat, Raghuraj Singh Pal for the Agra Graduate seat, Devmani Tiwari for the Lucknow Graduate seat, Sanjay Priyadarshi for the Varanasi Teachers' Legislative Council seat, and Arvind Singh Patel for the Varanasi Graduates' Legislative Council seat.

A graduates' constituency is one in which only graduates from any recognised Indian university, or those with an equivalent qualification, can vote. In a teachers' constituency, only a full-time teacher in at least a secondary school or higher is eligible to vote.

The state Congress chief alleged that in the last election, the BJP won by indulging in vote theft, booth capturing, and ballot box replacement, attempting to suppress the voice of democracy.

He said a 'Connect Centre' has been established at the state Congress office in Lucknow for the elections. A Coordinator Committee will be formed in each district, which will be connected to the Connect Centre, he said.

All frontal organisations have been involved. The Legal, Teachers', and Medical Cells have been assigned special responsibilities for this election, he added.

Rai stated MPs, MLAs, and senior Congress leaders are being appointed as in-charges for all seats.

There are a total of 100 Legislative Council seats in Uttar Pradesh, which are filled by members selected by MLAs, civic and panchayat representatives, teachers, and graduates. In addition, the government also nominates some members. PTI CDN RHL