Jailed BSP MLA’s wife woos SP for Banda seat

Naraini constituency,which Dwivedi presently represents in the state Assembly,has been declared as a reserved seat for Scheduled Castes after delimitation. The BSP had dropped Dwivedi as its nominee from Banda after the rape case.

“There is a sentiment in favour of the MLA in a section of people in Banda who are unhappy with the manner in which BSP government handled the rape case. They believe the state government acted in haste against the MLA under media pressure,” a source in the SP said,explaining the reason for considering the name of Dwivedi’s wife as a possible candidate.

Banda has a considerable population of Brahmin voters whom the SP is targetting to disturb the BSP’s social engineering formula of forging a Brahmin-Dalit combination.

“Aasha Dwivedi’s candidature suits the political interest of the party in the present situation in the Bundelkhand region,’’ said an SP leader.

Sources said the jailed MLA’s family members first approached SP national vice president and former Rajya Sabha member Brij Bhushan Tiwari. On getting an encouraging response,they met other senior leaders.

When contacted,Tiwari confirmed he had met Dwivedi’s family members. “They have also met other leaders of my party,but I won’t tell you the names,’’ Tiwari said. Asked about the possibility of an SP ticket to Dwivedi’s wife,he said these things are decided at the level of the party’s national president Mulayam Singh Yadav and state president Akhilesh Yadav. The MLA’s son Mayank Dwivedi refused to discuss the matter,saying he is currently focusing on legal remedies for the release of his father. However,he admitted that his family members are in touch with SP leaders.