The party had declared its first list of 55 candidates on November 16 and a second list of eight candidates and one change in first list on November 19. Both lists were declared by the party’s national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav.

The first rejection of the official candidate was reported from Unnao where the party has fielded historysheeter Arun Kumar Shukla alias Anna who had contested on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket from the area in 2009. Anwar Ahmad, who is district president of SP in Unnao, announced that he would not support Anna. “I cannot support Anna. It is not possible for me to support a candidate who had harassed us in the past,” Anwar reportedly stated in a party meeting where Anna was present. Anwar even met party president Mulayam Singh Yadav at Lucknow and told him the district unit could not support Anna.

Another incident was reported from Etah where the party has chosen Devendra Singh Yadav, who had joined the SP only three days ago. Rameshwar Yadav, MLA from Aliganj who was also a claimant, met Mulayam Singh and registered his protest. Later, he reportedly offered a deal: “Give me the ticket for Farrukhabad and I will support Devendra.”

In Meerut, many leaders are against Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shahid Manzoor’s brother Shams Parvez and complaints have reached Mulayam Singh’s office. It is said that Parvez had lost the town area election from Kithore, which is in the minister’s constituency. So how can he win the election of MP? Shahid Manzoor himself had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha election and was placed third.

In Agra, SP workers have opened a front against Mahraj Singh Dhanghar. Since the constituency is reserved, many have even questioned whether Dhanghar is eligible to contest. Former Mayor Anjula Mahaur and MLC Ram Sakal Gurjar have met Mulayam Singh and said “the final decision rests with Netaji. We have conveyed everything,” Gurjar stated.

In Faizabad, SP candidate Tilak Ram Verma was a reluctant starter. “I got the ticket due to Netaji, I was not much interested in the beginning,” Verma said. Party sources said MLA Mitrasen Yadav, who was keen to contest, did not like this. Now, Mitrasen had reportedly staked claim on Sultanpur, where SP has fielded Shakeel Ahmad.

At Barabanki, former MLA Rajrani Rawat is unacceptable to most SP workers. Rajrani is a recent entrant in the party from BJP, and was chosen in preference to former MP Ram Sagar Rawat who has always been loyal to SP. Ram Sagar is reportedly staying away from party programmes and has conveyed his unhappiness to Mulayam Singh.

In Banda, the SP has denied ticket to sitting MP RK Singh Patel, replacing him with Shyama Charan Gupta. Sources said Patel, who had come to the party from BSP, is now exploring other options.

In Pratapgarh, the claim of Akhshay Pratap Singh, cousin of Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya, has been ignored. Instead, the party has chosen C N Singh who was once close to former SP leader Amar Singh. Several delegations of SP workers from Pratapgarh have conveyed their reservations to the party chief.

At Azamgarh, SP workers had recently staged a demonstration outside the party office, demanding that Mulayam Singh’s younger son Prateek Yadav be fielded in place of Panchayati Raj Minister Balram Yadav. In Jhansi, Chandra Bhushan alias Guddu Raja, who had contested the 2012 Assembly election from Lalitpur, has announced that he will not be able to support Chandrapal Singh Yadav, the party candidate. At Bhadohi, SP MLA Madhubala Pasi had intimated her resentment to Mulayam Singh regarding the candidature of Seema Mishra. Seema is the daughter of SP MLA from Gyanpur Vijay Mishra.