A day after the BJP fielded former Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Sinh from the Amethi Assembly constituency, the Opposition party on Monday announced that former BSP leader Ashish Shukla would take him on. Shukla features in a list of 28 candidates announced by the Congress for the fifth and sixth phases. The 61-year-old Shukla had contested the 2002 Assembly elections from Amethi on a Congress ticket against then BJP candidate Amita Singh, the wife of Sanjay Sinh. He lost the election to Amita. Sources said Shukla left the BSP before the 2017 elections and joined the BJP but did not get to contest from Amethi after the saffron party fielded Sanjay Sinh’s first wife Garima Sinh who was elected MLA. Meanwhile, of the 28 candidates declared by the Congress, 10 are women. The Opposition party has also fielded Yogesh Yadav in Kunda, Manoj Yadav in the Sahajanwa constituency, and BM Yadav in Isauli.
