The MLC election of Uttar Pradesh remains a topic of discussion. Samajwadi Party alliance has fielded candidates on all 36 seats. The SP has given only two seats to the RLD while the party has not given a single seat to any other alliance partner. At the same time, BJP has released a list of 30 candidates for the MLC election, which also includes the names of history-sheeters. The BJP has fielded former MLC Vineet Singh alias Shyam Narayan Singh and Brijesh Singh ‘Prinsu’, a close aide of Dhananjay Singh.
BJP has fielded Vineet Singh from Mirzapur-Sonbhadra local body constituency. Vineet Singh has several criminal cases registered against him and he is a history-sheeter in the records of Cholapur police station in Varanasi district. Vineet Singh had joined BJP during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He had contested the 2017 assembly elections from Sayedaraja seat in Chandauli district as a BSP candidate. During that time he was lodged in Ranchi jail in a kidnapping case. Vinit had finished second in the 2017 election.
From Jaunpur Local Authority constituency, BJP has fielded current BSP MLC Brijesh Singh ‘Prinshu’, who is considered close to Dhananjay Singh. Dhananjay Singh contested the 2022 assembly elections as a Janata Dal (United) candidate from Malhani seat in Jaunpur district and stood second.
In the Bochaha seat in the Bihar by-election, the BJP has fielded its candidate against the candidate of NDA alliance partner Vikassheel Insaan Party. In fact, this seat has fallen vacant due to the death of a VIP party MLA and a by-election is being held on the seat.
Sawhney first opposed the BJP by contesting over 50 seats in Uttar Pradesh and then decided to contest the seven MLC seats in April where the BJP has fielded candidates. Sawhney was considering his party as a natural contender for the Bochaha seat in the by-polls, but the BJP decided to take on the Mallah leader.