The August 11 by-election to the two seats of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council will witness a contest with the main Opposition, Samajwadi Party, fielding 28-year-old Kirti Kol. While the Samajwadi Party refers to her as a tribal or “adivasi” candidate, Kriti Kol belongs to the Scheduled Castes and is currently a zila panchayat member in Mirzapur district. The BJP, which is confident of winning both the seats in the Upper House given its majority in the Assembly, has fielded its Kashi region vice-president Nirmala Paswan and Gorakhpur regional president Dharmendra Singh Sainthwar. Both filed their nominations on Monday in presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy CMs Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya and other senior leaders of the party. As Kirti Kol filed her nomination papers on Monday, the SP in a statement said: “Representation of half of the population (aadhi aabadi — women) and janjatiya samaj (tribal community) will strengthen the spirit of the Constitution and democracy.” SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, “Kirti Kol comes from adivasi samaj. The party wants adivasi samaj to get representation in politics. She was given a ticket to contest in the Assembly polls, but she lost. Now, the party has fielded her in the MLC bypoll. The SP will appeal to all the MLAs, including those from the BJP, to support an aadivasi candidate.” Kirti Kol, who lost to Apna Dal (Sonelal)’s Rahul Prakash Kol from Chhanbey SC-reserved seat in the recent Assembly elections, belongs to a political family. Her father, former BSP MP late Bhai Lal Kol, was elected MLA twice - once on a BJP ticket and later on SP symbol. A postgraduate from Prayagraj, Kirti has completed BEd and is a teacher at an intermediate college founded by her father. Her husband also teaches in the same college, according to an SP leader. After her father’s death in 2020, Kirti and her brother Pankaj decided to carry forward their father’s political legacy. The SP fielded her in the 2021 zila panchayat polls and she got elected. Her father was a prominent political figure among adivasis in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra. He was elected MLA for the first time in 1996 from Chhanbey as a BJP candidate. He later joined BSP, which fielded him in 2007 Lok Sabha by-election from Robertsganj (SC-reserved). He won again. He then went on to join SP and won from Chhanbey in the 2012 Assembly polls. In the 2017 Assembly polls, he finished third. By fielding Kirti Kol in the MLC bypoll, SP president Akhilesh Yadav has tried to hit the BJP’s plans to win the bypoll unopposed, and has put an option before the BJP MLAs and its allies to consider SP’s “advasi” nominee. The by-election is being held on the seats that fell vacant after the death of SP leader Ahmed Hassan, and following resignation of BJP leader Jaiveer Singh who got elected to the Assembly earlier this year. The scrutiny of nominations will be done on Tuesday and polling as well as counting of votes is scheduled for August 11. The 100-member Legislative Council, at present, has 73 BJP members, nine from SP, four Independents, two from Teachers group, one each from Apna Dal (S), Nishad Party and Jansatta Dal. There are eight vacant seats in the Council. In the Assembly of 403 MLAs, BJP and its allies have a majority with 273 members, while SP has 111 members and its ally RLD eight.
