"I accept the decision...": Atul Pradhan after SP replaces him from Meerut Lok Sabha seat

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 4 : By replacing Atul Pradhan with Sunita Verma as its candidate from the Meerut Lok Sabha seat, the Samajwadi Party (SP) made a statement of intent as it is all set now to pose a tough challenge to the BJP's star candidate Arun Govil of 'Ramayana' fame.
The Akhilesh-led party, earlier in the day, replaced Atul with Sunita, wife of former MLA Yogesh Verma, Sunita.
Earlier, unease among local workers of the SP over the choice of nominee for the Meerut-Hapur LS constituency forced the party to rethink its official candidate, Bhanu Pratap Singh.
Thereafter, on Monday late at night, the party replaced Singh with the sitting MLA from Sardhana, Atul Pradhan.
Pradhan, while speaking to ANI, said he humbly accepts the decision taken by the party's national president Akhilesh Yadav.
"The final decision has been made. There are a lot of twists and turns in politics and real life. I believe in accepting the decision of the party. I accept the decision of the national president of my party," Pradhan said.
Pradhan filed his nomination from the Meerut-Hapur constituency on Wednesday.
In a post on X, earlier in the day, Pradhan said, "Whatever is the decision of National President Shri Akhilesh Yadav Ji, I accept it. I will soon sit and talk with my colleagues."
https://twitter.com/atulpradhansp/status/1775730057161658484
While Pradhan unsuccessfully contested the Sardhana Assembly seat several times starting in 2012, he defeated firebrand BJP leader Sangeet Som by a margin of over 18,000 votes in the 2022 Assembly polls.
Sunita Verma and her husband, Yogesh Verma, who were expelled from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 2019, joined the Samajwadi Party in 2021. Yogesh was elected MLA for two terms--2007 and 2012--on a BSP ticket but lost in the 2022 assembly elections as an SP candidate. His wife, Sunita, became mayor in 2017.
The BJP is eyeing Western UP with optimism in pursuit of its ambitious target of 370 seats on its own, despite facing setbacks in the last elections. In 2014, the BJP secured 24 out of 27 seats in the region, which dipped further to 19 in 2019, with all eight seats going to the SP-BSP combined.
In 2019, BJP candidate Rajendra Agarwal managed to clinch the Meerut seat by defeating the SP-backed BSP candidate Haji Yakub Qureshi by a thin margin of less than 5,000 votes.
In 2014, the BJP clinched a staggering 71 seats in the state.
However, in 2019, facing a formidable alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the ruling alliance's seat count went down to 64. Despite the BSP securing 10 seats, the SP failed to surpass five.
Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases beginning April 19. Uttar Pradesh, which sends the maximum number of MPs, 80, to Parliament, will vote in all seven phases.
With political dynamics shifting in the state, the BJP is spearheading a robust alliance, encompassing parties like the RLD, SBSP, Apna Dal (S), and Nishad Party, bolstering its position.
On the other hand, while Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav aligns with the opposition bloc, Mayawati embarks on the electoral journey solo.
Uttar Pradesh will vote in all seven phases. Voting for phases one and two will be held on April 19 and April 26.
Next, the state will once again poll in phases three and four on May 7 and May 13.
The Uttar Pradesh electorate will also vote in phases five, six, and seven on May 20, May 23, and June 1, respectively. Polling in Meerut will take place on April 26, during the second phase. The votes will be counted on June 4.