UP Assembly polls: BJP releases 1st list of candidates, Adityanath to contest from Gorakhpur

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday (January 15, 2022) released the first list of nominees for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

The list was released during a press conference by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh at party headquarters in New Delhi.

The BJP released the list of 57 candidates for the first phase, 48 for the second phase and 105 for the third phase.

Dharmendra Pradhan informed that Yogi Adityanath will contest from Gorakhpur.

Yogi Adityanath, notably, is a five-term former Lok Sabha member from Gorakhpur and is currently a member of the state's Legislative Council.

Earlier, there were reports that the BJP is considering fielding the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister from Ayodhya or Mathura. Adityanath, however, had said that he was willing to contest the assembly polls from wherever the party's top brass decides.

Meanwhile, Dharmendra Pradhan also informed that the current deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya will fight from Sirathu.