SP picks nominee for Ayodhya polls, other parties ponder over candidates

Ayodhya (UP): With the Samajwadi Party nominating old hand Pawan Pandey on the Ayodhya seat, all eyes are on the BJP which is yet to name its candidate for the high-profile constituency after buzz on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stopped with the party fielding him from the Gorakhpur Urban seat.

The BSP and Congress are also yet to come out with the names of their candidates but people here see the poll as a direct fight between the SP and the BJP.

Akhilesh Yadav's party on Tuesday night declared the candidature of former MLA Pandey on the seat .

A promising youth leader from Lucknow University, Pandey had won the seat in 2012 but lost in 2017. He was also a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government.

Even as the SP has come out with the name of its candidate, BJP supporters are still guessing whether it will be sitting MLA Ved Prakash Gupta or someone else.

Like in the past, Ayodhya is being used as a springboard by all major parties to launch its election campaign

this time too.