The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday announced that it had fielded Subhawati Shukla, the wife of late BJP state vice-president Upendra Dutt Shukla, against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from the Gorakhpur Urban constituency for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Shukla joined the SP in January 2022 in the presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav and since then has been the favourite to face the Adityanath in the elections, which begin on February 10. Voting for Gorakhpur Urban, from where both Shukhla and the current Chief Minister are contesting, is slated to be held on March 3.

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When Shukla had joined, the SP had remained coy about fielding her against Adityanath, and had said, “The party leadership will take a call on the issue in the next couple of days.”

By fielding Shukla, the SP is looking to make a dent in BJP votes since her former husband Upendra Dutt Shukla, who died of a cardiac arrest in 2020, had a strong following in the state.

Additionally, Shukla, who is a Brahmin, is also likely to secure some votes from her community.

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The announcement of the SP’s candidate to face Yogi Adityanath comes a day ahead of the release of the BJP’s election manifesto for the state, which will be overseen by the Chief Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah.

The BJP was slated to release its manifesto on Sunday, but postponed it to honour legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, who died at the age of 92 at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, weeks after being admitted with COVID-19. Subsequently, the saffron party on Monday said that the manifesto would be released on Tuesday.