Amita Sinh keen on Amethi battle

Amethi (UP): A “battle royal” seems to be on the cards here with former MLA Amita Sinh, wife of Congress MP Sanjay Sinh, on Monday asserting she would contest despite ally Samajwadi Party already fielding its candidate and the BJP nominating Garima Singh, the estranged first wife of her husband.

“Amethi is my family and my home and I cannot leave it... I will contest from here,” Ms Sinh said, adding she had been working hard among the electorate since long and preparing ground for it.

“I have talked to the senior Congress leaders and told them about the ground reality here and have requested them to do the needful as the seat also falls in the parliamentary constituency of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi,” she said.

The Congress and SP had on Sunday sealed a pre-poll alliance for the UP Assembly elections with the Akhilesh-led party having the lion’s share of 298 of 403 seats, and leaving the remaining 105 for its ally.

While the Samajwadi Party has fielded sitting MLA Gayatri Prajapati from the seat, BJP had yesterday announced the name of Garima Singh, the estranged first wife of royal and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Sinh for Amethi, which has for long been a Congress bastion.

Amethi will go to polls during the phase-V of UP elections on February 27 for which nominations of candidates will remain open till February 9. The election results will be out on March 11.