Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday announced former MLA Pawan Pandey as the party’s candidate from the high-profile Ayodhya Assembly constituency for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The announcement, made at the party’s Brahmin conference in Lucknow, marks SP’s first major candidate declaration for the polls.
Addressing party workers at the event, Akhilesh Yadav expressed confidence that Pandey would reclaim the Ayodhya seat, saying the former legislator was set to emerge victorious in the 2027 election.
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The Ayodhya Assembly constituency, which houses the Ram Temple, is among the five Assembly segments in the Ayodhya district, alongside Rudauli, Milkipur, Bikapur and Dariyabad. Given its religious and political significance, the seat is expected to remain one of the key battlegrounds in the upcoming election.
WHO IS PAWAN PANDEY?
Tej Narayan Pandey, popularly known as Pawan Pandey, is a senior Samajwadi Party leader and a prominent opposition face in Ayodhya. Known for his outspoken style and grassroots connect, he has been active in socialist politics for nearly three decades.
Pandey began his political journey through student politics in 1998 and soon became associated with the socialist movement led by SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. Since 1999, he has worked closely with Akhilesh Yadav and has held various organisational responsibilities within the party.
In 2004, he was elected vice-president of the Lucknow University Students’ Union. During his student activism, he led several protests and was jailed in 2007 while participating in an agitation over student issues, earning a reputation as a combative young leader.
HISTORIC 2012 WIN
Pandey first shot to prominence in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections when he defeated senior BJP leader and then minister Lallu Singh from the Ayodhya seat. The victory was widely seen as one of the most significant electoral upsets of that election.
During his tenure as MLA from 2012 to 2017, Pandey frequently raised issues related to infrastructure, education, healthcare, drinking water and urban development in the Assembly.
In recent years, he has remained vocal on matters concerning Ayodhya, including the Ram Temple, land acquisition, local traders’ concerns and civic issues. He had also sought a high-level probe and greater transparency over the controversy surrounding offerings and donation boxes at the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple.
With the SP once again reposing faith in him, Pandey is set to be at the centre of one of Uttar Pradesh’s most closely watched electoral contests in 2027.
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With inputs from Mayank Shukla
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
