New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh has been in trouble with his party and is not contesting the most crucial Assembly polls in UP, but four of his namesakes are in fray. So is one Akhilesh Yadav, who is catching eyeballs in Mubarakpur constituency.
Akhilesh Yadav, the 54-year-old namesake of UP chief minister, is a candidate of none other than Samajwadi Party from Mubarakpur. The CM is not contesting as he is a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) whose tenure ends only in 2018.
What is more interesting is the party affiliation of each of the Amar Singhs. While one is a BJP candidate from Kaimganj, another is contesting on a CPI(M) ticket from the SP bastion of Etawah, third an RLD candidate from Kursi. CPI(M) has fielded another Amar Singh, from Chandpur.
Amar Singh had emerged as the cynosure in the raging feud within the Samajwadi Party. Although party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had backed him, the other faction led by his son had named him as the “problem” that was “tearing the family apart”.
The rush for 403-member UP Assembly also has mythical characters like Duryodhan, Arjun, Abhimanyu and even Narad Muni. If the Kauravas under Duryodhan lost the war in Maharbharata, the new-age Duryodhan (65), a candidate of Bahujan Mukti Party, is trying to recapture Hastinapur electorally.
Not to be left behind, an Independent candidate Arjun, a 29-year-old agriculturist, is fighting from Bansi while 25-year-old Abhimanyu, a social worker, is also in the fray from Pipraich. Narad is BSP candidate from Ballinagar.
One can also vote for historical and political greats like Nehruji, Atal Bihari, Zulfikar Bhutto, Charan Singh and V.P. singh. Also in fray are namesakes of former cricketer Kapil Dev, cinestars Irfan Khan and Arshad Warsi and singer Mohd Rafi.
Atal Bihari is the contestant in Etmadpur. while Zulfikar Bhutto is a BSP candidate from Agra South.
