Rajnath Singh to file nomination paper from Lucknow on Apr 16

On the day of filing his nomination, Mr Rajnath Singh is also expected to hold a road show from the party office to the Collectorate while several senior BJP leaders and NDA alliance leaders may also be present on the day.

With less than a week left for the last date of filing nominations (April 18), it is noteworthy that the Congress and the Mahagathbandhan have not yet announced a candidate against the Union Minister.

Lucknow is considered to be the stronghold of the ruling BJP which has held the seat since 1991.

Mr Singh had earlier contested from the Lucknow seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and secured a decisive victory by defeating Prof Rita Bahuguna Joshi by winning about 5,61,106 votes. Ms Joshi, who had then contested on a Congress ticket, later joined the BJP in October 2016.

Ms Joshi, who is now a Cabinet Minister in the Uttar Pradesh government is set to fight the Lok Sabha polls from the Allahabad constituency and will have to prove her mettle on the seat which had once been held by her father and former Chief Minister Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna.

Former Prime Minister and BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee who died on August 16, 2018 left behind a rich legacy in this constituency which he held for five consecutive terms.

Mr Vajpayee remained the Member of Parliament from Lucknow until 2009, when he retired from active politics due to health concerns.

2019 elections will be the first elections after the veteran leader’s death.

Rajnath Singh first contested from Lucknow in 2014 by replacing the earlier candidate Lal Ji Tandon who was later made the Bihar Governor. Earlier, Mr Singh had contested from the Ghaziabad seat in 2009.

Lucknow seat is divided into five Assembly segments—Lucknow West, Lucknow North, Lucknow East, Lucknow Central and Lucknow Cantt and is an urban constituency.

Lucknow goes to polls in the fifth phase and the nominations for this phase started from April 10.

Voting will be held here on May 6.