BSP fields Mohd Yusuf as its mayoral nominee

Bareilly: After days of suspense about its civic polls candidates, BSP’s district unit here declared its mayoral candidate on Saturday night. The party has fielded Mohammad Yusuf, 45, who is one of the biggest players in the embroidery business in Bareilly.
Making the announcement here, BSP district unit president Narendra Sagar said party chief Mayawati in a meeting held in Lucknow had given her nod for Yusuf's candidature.Yusuf was in BSP from 2002 to 2011.
After the announcement, Yusuf told TOI, “It is like coming back home. I rejoined BSP only four day ago. In 2011, I had left the party after senior SP leader Azam Khan promised me to an assembly election ticket from Bareilly city seat but they gave the ticket to someone else. I quit SP immediately. I have contested the assembly election in 2012 on a Peace Party ticket but faced defeat. I joined SP again in 2014. Now, I am again in BSP's fold and am grateful to Behanji who showed her faith in me for contesting the mayoral election here.”
Meanwhile, sale of nomination papers for the civic bodies’ election began here on Saturday. Outgoing mayor IS Tomar’s representative Munish Sharma was among the first eight people who purchased nomination papers for the post of mayor. Similarly, over two dozen papers were sold for councillors’ elections in 80 wards. Elections will be held on November 29.
Munish said Tomar would file his nomination on November 9.
For the mayor’s election, the returning officer (RO) has been deputed at the collectorate while ROs for ward councillors and 11 nagar panchayats will be present at Urban Hatt.
While Samajwadi Party has declared Tomar and Congress Ajay Shukla as their mayoral candidates, BJP is yet to announce the names of its candidates.
According to BJP sources, chancellor of a private university Umesh Gautam, physician Dr Pramendra Maheshwari, union minister Santosh Gangwar’s aide Gulshan Anand and businessman Sanjeev Agrawal are among the frontrunners in the race for the party ticket for the mayor’s post. While hectic lobbying is on, BJP is yet to announce its candidate.