Jagdambika Pal: Former Veteran Congress Leader To Secure A Third Win For BJP (image:twitter.com/jagdambikapalmp)

After four decades with the grand old party, Jagdambika Pal, veteran leader joined BJP in 2014. As a sitting BJP MP in Uttar Pradesh”s Domariyaganj constituency, he is looking for a third consecutive win in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In 2009, Jagdambika Pal had obtained his first term from Domariyaganj on a Congress ticket. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Jagdambika Pal retained the seat as a BJP candidate by defeating Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) candidate Mohammed Muqueem by a margin of 1,03,588 votes. In 2019 elections, a triangular fight ensued between sitting BJP MP with SP-BSP-RLD alliance and Congress candidates. Pal maintained the seat by defeating BSP”s alliance candidate Aftab Alam by a margin of 1,05,321 votes. Meanwhile, Congress candidate Dr Chandresh Upadhyaya relegated to third position.

Though Jagdambika Pal began his political stint with Congress, left the party and joined the Congress (Tiwari). He, later, formed the Akhil Bharatiya Loktantrik Congress in 1997 became a minister in Kalyan Singh”s government.

In 1998, Pal served the shortest stint as the Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and known as “Teen din ka CM” (a three-day chief minister). When the then UP governor Romesh Bhandari had dismissed the Kalyan Singh government on February 21, 1998, Jagdambika Pal, who then associated with the Congress became the chief minister. But, the Allahabad high court reinstated Kalyan Singh as the chief minister on February 23.

After spending some years outside the grand old party, Jagdambika Pal, rejoined the party and then, became the State chief of the Congress as well.

Domariyaganj Lok Sabha seat lies in Siddharthnagar, a north-eastern district in Uttar Pradesh.