Shyam Singh Yadav: Sitting MP Is BSP's 'New Candidate' In Jaunpur (image:facebook.com/ShyamSinghYadavOfficial/)

The Jaunpur parliamentary constituency is facing a triangular contest between the BJP, the Samajwadi Party (SP), and the BSP. Though the BSP had given Lok Sabha tickets to Srikala Reddy, wife of convicted former MP Dhananjay Singh, the party changed the candidate in the last minute to sitting MP Shyam Singh Yadav.

Shyam Singh Yadav won the 2019 election from Jaunpur on a SP-BSP alliance and won by over 79,000 votes, defeating BJP candidate KP Singh.

Shyam Singh Yadav started his career as an Uttar Pradesh Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officer in 1982. An LLM graduate, during the course of his professional career, he exercised roles including Sub-Divisional Magistrate, joint secretary (Moradabad Development Authority), city magistrate (Banda), additional district magistrate (land acquisition), secretary, vice chairman (Development Authority Muzaffarnagar), and retired as special secretary (Government of Uttar Pradesh).

The last-minute switch of BSP candidate is bewildering many. There are speculations that Mayawati”s move is to silently support the BJP in the seat.

A Yadav-dominate seat, Jaunpur holds the traditional vote bank of the SP. In 2019, Yadav”s vote bank garnered behind the SP-BSP candidate Shyam Singh Yadav, resulting in his victory. But in this election, SP and BSP are contesting separately; therefore, the Yadav vote bank could possibly be divided between two parties, aiding the saffron party. Historically, it has been over four decades since Jaunpur gave a consecutive victory to any party and 53 years since it repeated an MP.

Jaunpur Lok Sabha seat, comprise of five Assembly segments of which the BJP holds two (Badlapur and Jaunpur), the SP holds two (Malhani and Mungra Badshahpur) and one is under the dominion of NISHAD party (Shahganj).