With defections rising, more BJP MLAs may get to contest

The BJP is looking at limiting the number of sitting MLAs it may deny tickets to for the upcoming polls to prevent more defections. This follows a spate of resignations from the party, including that of three ministers which has come as an embarrassment for the ruling party.

About 30% of the sitting MLAs were expected to lose tickets this time, coming to little less than 100 candidates, but the party may now deny tickets only to about 10-15% of the sitting MLAs, a senior UP BJP functionary told ET.

In what is being seen as a firefighting exercise to prevent defections and to counter the narrative of "discrimination", Yogi Adityanath participated in a "sahbhoj" programme or shared a meal with the family of a Dalit man, Amrit Lal Bharti, in Gorakhpur. "Those who do dynasty politics and encourage only their families cannot be supporters of social justice. Those who have corruption in their genes cannot fight the battle of social justice. Social justice is giving the benefits of government schemes to every poor, every section of society without socially or financial discriminating against them," Yogi told mediapersons in Gorakhpur, in an apparent reference to the leaders joining SP.


"The government has provided welfare schemes to all sections of society in the past five years without discrimination which is how 45 lakh poor have gotten houses, 2.61 crore poor have toilets," he said.